THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OP 
SPECIAL  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY 

OF   SPECIAL  ABILITIES 

AND  DISABILITIES 


BY 


AUGUSTA  F.  BKONNEK,  PH.D. 

ASSISTANT   DIRECTOR,    JUVENILE    PSYCHOPATHIC    INSTITUTE 
CHICAGO 


BOSTON 

LITTLE,   BROWN,  AND  COMPANY 
1917 


Copyright,  1917, 
BT  LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND  COMPANT. 


All  rights  reserved 
Published,  March,  1917 


Xorfaooti  Press 

Set  up  and  electrotyped  by  J.  S.  Gushing  Co.,  Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 
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MS 


PREFACE 

WITH  the  ever  increasing  demand  in  education  for 
recognition  of  the  individual  rather  than  the  mass,  it  is 
remarkable  that  no  attempt  has  been  made  as  yet  to 
formulate  specifically  the  problems  of  specialized  abili- 
ties and  disabilities.  On  the  side  of  mental  defect, 
interest  is  centered  so  largely  on  testing  and  caring  for 
individuals  of  general  low  intelligence  that  the  problems 
of  narrower  types  of  defect  have  been  neglected  and 
still  are  largely  misunderstood.  Some  writers  have 
touched  upon  related  questions,  mainly  in  referring  to 
the  fact  of  individual  differences  in  mental  capacities, 
but  only  general  statements  are  to  be  found  ;  nowhere 
else  have  special  defects  been  outlined  and  nowhere  can 
one  find  even  enumeration  of  the  types  of  variation  that 
are  practically  important. 

In  this  book  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  discuss 
practical  aspects  of  special  abilities  and  disabilities,  to 
offer  in  detail  methods  of  attacking  problem-cases,  and  to 
present  various  types,  both  (a)  of  particular  disabilities 
in  those  who  have  normal  general  ability  and  (6)  of 
particular  abilities  in  those  who  are  below  normal  in 
general  capacities.  The  great  tendency  of  to-day  in 
the  psychological  study  of  individuals  is  to  make  gen- 
eral diagnoses,  stressing  particularly  the  defects  that 


VI  .  PREFACE 

are  found.  But  there  is  also  great  value  in  discovering 
abilities  which  exist  and  in  endeavoring  to  base  con- 
structive measures  on  them. 

It  is  fully  recognized  that  many  of  the  questions  con- 
cerning special  abilities  and  disabilities  cannot  yet  be 
solved.  It  is  hoped,  however,  that  the  present  discus- 
sion will  lead  to  appreciation  of  the  need  for  greater 
study  in  this  field  and  will  stimulate  other  efforts  in 
this  direction. 

The  whole  presentation  of  the  subject  is  based  on  the 
experience  that  many  case-studies  have  afforded.  In 
the  selection  of  cases,  in  the  analysis  of  the  material, 
and,  indeed,  in  the  preparation  of  the  entire  book  I 
have  been  greatly  helped  by  Doctor  William  Healy,  to 
whom  I  gratefully  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  for 
inspiration,  encouragement,  and  wise  counsel. 

AUGUSTA  F.  BRONNER. 
CHICAGO, 
October,  1916. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

PREFACE      v 

I    THE  PROBLEM 1 

II    METHODS  OF  DIAGNOSIS 12 

HI    DIFFERENTIAL  DIAGNOSIS 23 

IV    SOME  PRESENT  EDUCATIONAL  TENDENCIES       .        .  40 

V    SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN  NUMBER  WORK        ...  50 

VI    SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN  LANGUAGE  ABILITY        .        .  75 

VII    SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN  SEPARATE  MENTAL  PROCESSES  118 

VIII    DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL  CONTROL 166 

IX    SPECIAL   ABILITIES  WITH  GENERAL  MENTAL  SUB- 
NORMALITY     196 

X    GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS 220 

APPENDIX  —  RECORDS  OF  PSYCHOLOGICAL  EXAMINATION  .  229 

INDEX                                                                                             ,  265 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF 

SPECIAL  ABILITIES  AND 

DISABILITIES 

CHAPTER  I 
THE  PROBLEM 

THAT  human  beings  have  particular  abilities  and  dis- 
abilities varying  more  or  less  —  and  frequently  varying 
greatly  —  from  the  level  of  normal  capacity,  is  a  fact  of 
much  psychological  interest  as  well  as  of  great  practical 
educational  and  social  significance.  In  recent  years 
psychologists  have  concerned  themselves  quite  as  much 
with  individual  differences  as  with  the  formulation  of 
general  laws.  They  have  been  interested  in  the  varia- 
bilities that  exist  in  any  group,  as  well  as  in  the  common 
trends  that  are  shown.  They  have  laid  down  the  general 
principle  that  all  men  differ  in  all  traits.  Thorndike  has 
stated  again  and  again  that  there  is  no  "typical  mind"; 
that  differences  exist  at  birth  and  increase  with  progress 
toward  maturity.  "Individuality  is  already  clearly 
manifest  in  children  of  school  age.  The  same  situation 
evokes  widely  differing  responses ;  the  same  task  is  done 

I 


2       PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

at  differing  speeds  and  with  different  degrees  of  success ; 
the  same  treatment  produces  differing  results." 

Experimental  studies  of  different  mental  processes  have 
led  to  the  conclusion  that,  in  all  of  their  abilities,  the  ma- 
jority of  individuals  cluster  about  an  average ;  the  greater 
the  divergence  from  the  average,  the  smaller  the  number 
of  individuals  found.  One  practical  corollary  of  this 
general  truth  is,  that  while  most  people  can  adjust  them- 
selves satisfactorily  to  ordinary  situations,  there  are  some 
so  far  removed  from  the  average  that  they  are  ill-ad- 
justed under  these  same  circumstances.  It  is  to  these 
persons,  numerically  in  the  minority,  yet  forming  a  class 
socially  very  significant,  that  injustice  is  done  in  the  pres- 
ent state  of  affairs.  It  is  they  who  are  often  misunder- 
stood, neglected,  allowed  to  remain  with  their  best  pos- 
sibilities undeveloped.  It  is  for  them,  the  individuals 
with  particular  abilities  and  disabilities,  we  would  be- 
speak intelligent  consideration.  Among  educators  the 
most  discerning  thinkers  have  recognized  this  group  as 
one  meriting  special  consideration.  "The  cry  for  in- 
dividual adjustment  has  become  a  shibboleth  among  the 
reformers,"  says  Suzzallo,  but,  alas,  the  cry  has  met  little 
response  hi  action. 

Only  when  variations  are  extreme  have  they  been  recog- 
nized ;  the  organization  of  special  classes  and  institutions 
for  the  crippled,  the  deaf,  the  blind,  the  feeble-minded, 
and  the  epileptic,  has  been  a  step  in  the  right  direction. 
However,  this  will  not  suffice;  variations  less  obvious, 
but  equally  as  significant,  can  no  longer  be  entirely  disre- 
garded. To  classify  all  persons  into  groups  of  the  normal 
or  the  defective  is  altogether  inadequate  for  the  purposes 
of  education  and  other  social  adjustments.  Yet,  at  pres- 
ent, this  is  exactly  what  is  almost  universally  done.  Chil- 
dren are  placed  either  in  groups  of  the  normal  and  taught 

1  Thorndike,  E.  L.,  "Individuality",  1911. 


THE   PROBLEM  3 

accordingly,  or  are  placed  in  special  classes  for  defectives 
and  taught  by  methods  supposedly  adapted  to  their  given 
type.  But,  if  there  are  particular  abilities  and  disabilities 
in  various  mental  traits,  no  such  division  of  method  will 
suffice  to  educate  all  in  the  best  way. 

Study  of  the  correlations  that  exist  between  different 
mental  traits  is  another  field  of  experimentation  that 
bears  upon  our  problem.  These  studies,  made  by  Spear- 
man,1 by  Pearson,2  Burt,3  Thorndike,4  and  others,  have 
shown  that  the  possession  of  ability  in  one  direction  in- 
creases the  probability  of  possessing  ability  in  other 
directions.  But  correlations  are  far  from  perfect,  and 
no  one  denies  that  in  some  cases  superiority  in  one  trait 
may  be  accompanied  by  actual  incapacity  or  specialized 
defect  in  other  traits.  Hence  the  statement  that  in  gen- 
eral correlations  in  mental  life  are  positive  offers  no  criti- 
cism to  the  finding  of  special  abilities  and  special  defects. 
Indeed,  such  findings  are  quite  in  accord  with  those  laws 
of  mental  life  which  are  at  present  known. 

That  many  facts  concerning  mental  life  have  not  yet 
been  discovered  will  be  readily  conceded.  One  contri- 
bution that  the  study  of  problem-cases  will  no  doubt 
make  is  to  the  better  understanding  of  the  normal  func- 
tioning of  mental  processes.  It  has  been  largely  through 
the  study  of  pathological  conditions  that  knowledge  of 
physiology  has  been  increased.  The  observation  of  results 
following  disease,  injury,  or  defects  of  special  parts  of  the 
central  nervous  system,  has  been  one  of  the  chief  means  of 

1  Spearman  and  Krueger,  "Die  Korrelation  zwischen  verschiedenen 
geistigen  Leistungsfahigkeiten."  Zeitschrift  fur  Psychologic,  44,  1906. 

*  Pearson,  K.,  "On  the  Relationship  of  Intelligence  to  Size  and  Shape 
of  Head  and  to  Other  Physical  and  Mental  Characters."  Biometrika,  5, 
1907. 

3  Burt,  Cyril,  "  Experimental  Tests  of  General  Intelligence."     British 
Journal  of  Psychology,  3,  1909. 

4  Thorndike,  E.  L.,  "Heredity,  Correlation  and  Sex  Differences  in 
School  Abilities."     "  Columbia  University  Contributions  to  Philosophy", 
etc.,  XI,  1903. 


4        PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

gaining  knowledge  about  its  structure  and  functioning. 
Perhaps  analogous  methods  might  prove  as  valuable  in 
the  understanding  of  psychological  problems,  for  much  is 
yet  to  be  learned  of  the  processes  underlying  complex 
mental  activities.  Until  laws  concerning  the  processes 
involved  in  actual  performance  have  been  scientifically 
established,  individual  adjustments  cannot  be  made 
rationally  and  successfully. 

Let  us  see  how  inadequately  the  problem  of  individual 
adjustment  is  being  met  at  the  present  time,  first,  from 
the  point  of  view  of  the  school.  According  to  our  present 
practice,  the  child  enters  school  without  his  particular 
characteristics  or  idiosyncrasies  being  known  to  the 
teacher.  Nowhere  is  opportunity  offered  for  any  definite 
study  of  the  individual,  and  except  as  peculiarities  and 
variations  from  the  rest  of  the  class  are  so  extreme  as  to 
attract  attention,  differences  among  members  of  the 
group  remain  unknown.  Of  course,  obvious  traits  are 
learned  as  time  goes  on,  but  the  recognition  of  even  these 
depends  on  the  astuteness  of  the  teacher,  her  interest  in 
the  pupils,  her  powers  of  observation  and  judgment. 
That  such  subjective  standards  are  inaccurate,  often 
false,  we  know  by  experimental  studies  which  have 
been  made  where  judgments  of  various  teachers  in  regard 
to  the  same  pupil  are  found  to  vary  greatly. 

Certain  it  is  that  the  more  subtle  characteristics,  which 
often  are  most  important  practically,  remain  unknown. 
Comments  regarding  character,  mental  make-up,  unusual 
traits  are  rarely  made,  and  when  made,  are  not  always 
considered  worth  recording.  The  next  year  the  class 
passes  on  to  another  teacher;  whatever  information  had 
been  garnered  previously  is  lost ;  all  that  is  usually  noted 
is  the  achievement  in  the  different  school  subjects  in 
terms  of  a  scale  of  numbers  or  letters  whose  values  are 
determined  arbitrarily,  according  to  each  individual 


THE   PROBLEM  5 

teacher's  subjective  standard.  Usually  not  a  word  is 
appended  concerning  the  dozen  and  one  observations 
that  even  the  most  obtuse  teacher  must  have  made  of 
each  individual  child,  though  these  might  save  weeks  or 
even  months  of  maladjustment  for  the  child  and  confusion 
and  misunderstanding  on  the  part  of  the  next  teacher. 
What  a  waste  of  knowledge  gained  through  the  daily 
experience  of  a  whole  school  year ! 

If  it  were  practicable  to  have  each  child  studied  in  such 
a  way  as  to  reveal  his  best  possibilities  and  talents,  that  is, 
if  there  were  scientific  educational  diagnoses,  it  is  quite 
conceivable  that  much  more  might  be  accomplished  even 
with  bright  children  than  is  now  the  case.  And  where 
there  has  not  been  obvious  failure,  we  do  not  know  how 
much  greater  success  might  have  been  achieved  under 
circumstances  more  favorable  to  the  individual's  develop- 
ment. As  conditions  now  are,  some  children  learn  be- 
cause they  are  fortunate  enough  to  receive  good  training ; 
no  doubt  many  more  learn  in  spite  of  poor  training,  or, 
at  least,  training  not  adapted  to  their  Individual  needs; 
others,  because  of  unrecognized  Innate  peculiarities,  do 
not  progress  satisfactorily  at  all. 

Every  teacher  knows  the  child  who  merely  drags  along, 
yet  seems  in  general  fairly  bright.  Then,  there  is  the 
child  who  does  very  well  in  some  subjects,  but  who  is 
exceedingly  retarded  in  others.  Procedure  in  regard  to 
these  children  varies ;  in  some  schools,  when  a  child  is  a 
failure  in  some  one  school  subject,  he  is  pushed  ahead  in 
spite  of  this,  with  the  consequence  that  in  this  subject 
he  falls  farther  and  farther  behind  the  class.  In  other 
schools  children  are  not  promoted  unless  the  results  in 
all  the  school  studies  are  satisfactory.  In  such  cases  the 
child  fails  of  promotion  again  and  again,  although  capable 
of  advancing  in  some  studies,  with  the  dire  effects  that 
result  from  discouragement,  from  associating  with  younger 


6        PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

children,  and  without  even  the  compensation  of  being 
helped  to  master  his  difficulties. 

We  are  not  here  considering  the  case  of  the  generally 
stupid  child  who  is  an  out-and-out  school  failure,  who  shows 
no  ability  in  any  one  of  the  school  subjects,  who  cannot 
maintain  his  position  in  the  class.  Such  children  have 
now  the  benefit  of  special  classes,  designated  by  various 
names.  However,  there  is  little  recognition  of  the  type 
of  problem  that  we  have  in  mind,  and  arrangements  for 
meeting  it  are  not  at  all  common.  In  most  instances  the 
child  is  carried  on  in  the  class  without  even  an  under- 
standing of  the  exact  nature  of  the  trouble. 

The  results  of  the  present  haphazard,  irrational  pro- 
cedure are  often  serious;  they  lead  to  loss  of  interest  in 
school  work  in  general,  to  discouragement  and  feeling  of 
inefficiency  which  frequently  lie  at  the  root  of  disciplinary 
problems.  The  step  from  this  to  truancy  is  easily  made, 
and  from  that  to  more  serious  delinquency.  Educational 
dissatisfaction  is  a  very  frequent  beginning  of  what  may 
develop  into  a  long  career  of  misdeeds.  From  our  studies 
of  delinquents  we  believe  that  misunderstanding  and  neg- 
lect of  children  with  particular  abilities  and  disabilities 
leads  to  truancy  and  thence  to  consequences  the  seri- 
ousness of  which  are  too  little  appreciated. 

We  realize  quite  well  that  the  school  cannot  be  held 
responsible  for  all  truancy  that  exists,  that  lack  of  home 
cooperation,  bad  companionship,  and  other  forces  may 
be  causative  factors.  And  yet,  it  would  seem  that  if  the 
school  endeavored  properly  to  meet  its  problems,  it  ought 
to  be  more  of  a  restraining  force  and  a  more  efficient 
competitor  for  the  child's  interest.  It  would  be  just  as 
foolhardy  to  close  our  eyes  to  the  fact  that  the  school  in 
and  of  itself  must,  in  many  cases,  be  the  prime  cause  for 
truancy,  as  to  adopt  the  opposite  view,  namely,  that 
other  forces  are  to  blame  altogether.  Surely  at  least  it 


THE    PROBLEM  7 

behooves  the  school  as  a  social  agency  to  recognize  this 
as  one  of  the  problems  it  must  solve;  to  endeavor  to 
make  such  a  study  as  shall  reveal  the  various  factors  in- 
volved ;  and,  on  the  basis  of  these  findings,  intelligently 
to  remedy  blamable  conditions. 

Ordinary  school  methods,  so  lacking  in  individual  ad- 
justment, may  explain  too,  in  part,  the  vast  retardation 
which  exists.  Again  and  again  in  our  experience  we  have 
found  children  normal  in  the  main,  but  who,  nevertheless, 
are  retarded  two,  three,  or  even  more  years  in  school. 
So  many  instances  are  found  where  other  factors,  physical 
ailments,  social  conditions,  truancy,  can  be  largely  ruled 
out,  that  it  seems  only  logical  to  account  for  retardation, 
in  part,  by  present  defects  in  schools.  The  regular  cur- 
ricula and  methods  are  not  achieving  success  in  the  case 
of  children  who  have  peculiarities  which  require  special 
consideration. 

Everywhere,  in  connection  with  this  problem,  common 
sense  suggests  the  great  waste  that  lack  of  appreciation 
of  individual  needs  entails.  There  is  the  economic  loss 
arising  from  school  expenditures  for  efforts  which  accom- 
plish little,  but  this  is  of  slight  consequence  as  compared 
with  the  waste  of  good  human  material,  the  making  of 
truants  and  supposed  dullards  of  those  who  might  be 
developing  useful  talents. 

Almost  all  that  has  been  said  in  regard  to  the  school 
situation  is  equally  applicable  to  vocational  life.  The 
vocational  misfit  not  only  contributes  poor  work  to  so- 
ciety, but  because  of  his  inability  to  hold  a  job  and  his 
frequent  changing  from  one  place  to  another,  he,  too, 
often  drifts  into  delinquency.  There  is,  thus,  loss  to  the 
public,  to  the  employer,  and  to  the  employe.  Vocational 
dissatisfactions  are  as  frequent  and  quite  as  serious  as 
educational  maladjustments. 

The  problems  we  are  here  concerned  with  are,  then, 


8        PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

those  that  arise  because  of  lack  of  recognition  of  special 
abilities  and  special  disabilities  —  problems  even  out- 
lined, so  far  as  we  know,  only  by  Healy.1  There  is,  on 
the  one  hand,  the  individual  who  is  normal  except  for 
special  mental  defects,  and,  on  the  other,  the  individual 
who,  though  in  general  mentally  below  normal,  has  some 
special  ability,  which,  if  developed,  might  be  highly  signifi- 
cant for  his  future  welfare.  (It  can  at  once  be  seen  that 
we  are  not  dealing  with  the  normal  individual  endowed 
with  unusual  ability,  the  genius  or  supernormal ;  this  is  not 
our  problem,  though  the  method  used  in  the  study  of  our 
problem-cases  and  later  explained  in  detail  is  equally 
applicable  for  the  study  of  the  supernormal.) 

Just  what  do  we  mean  by  the  term  "the  individual 
with  special  mental  defect"?  We  mean  a  person  with 
some  mental  defect  who  could  not  rightfully  be  designated 
feeble-minded,  or  even  subnormal;  one  who  proves  by 
tests  and  social  reactions  that,  in  the  main,  he  is  normal. 
So-called  general  intelligence  tests  —  Binet  or  other 
"measuring  scales  of  intelligence"  —  show,  in  these 
cases,  that  the  individual  is  not  generally  incapable,  al- 
though results  on  certain  tests  and  certain  aspects  of 
behavior  are  not  in  accord  with  the  general  findings. 
The  extent  of  the  incapacity  may  be  more  or  less  narrow. 
Thus,  it  is  conceivable  that  a  person  is  defective  in  all 
memory  processes,  or  that  he  is  normal,  let  us  say,  in 
his  visual  memory,  but  decidedly  poor  in  auditory 
memory,  or  even  that  his  disability  lies  in  some  very 
narrow  sphere  of  memory,  perhaps  for  numbers  only. 
Obviously  it  is  unfair  and  of  no  practical  value  to  call  such 
a  person  feeble-minded  or  a  "mental  defective." 

The  individual  mentally  below  normal  in  general,  but 
with  special  abilities,  presents  the  reverse  of  this  picture. 
Of  course,  this  group  might  include  all  grades  of  mental 
1  Healy,  William,  "The  Individual  Delinquent  ",  1915. 


THE   PROBLEM  9 

defect  where  contrasted  special  ability  exists.  However, 
we  are  not  now  interested  in  discussing  the  so-called  "  idiot- 
savants",  those  rare  individuals  who,  in  spite  of  extreme 
amentia,  show  remarkable  skill  in  some  one  direction. 
Their  general  intelligence  is  so  limited  that  they  are 
unable  to  adapt  themselves  to  living  conditions  outside 
of  institutions.  Nor  are  we  concerned  with  the  feeble- 
minded of  any  grade  possessing  special  abilities  which 
cannot  enable  them  to  meet  successfully  ordinary  social 
demands.  But  there  are  those  who  fall  somewhat  below 
the  upper  limits  of  feeble-mindedness  (the  Binet  tests 
for  the  twelve-year  level)  according  to  the  definition  of 
the  American  Association  for  the  Study  of  the  Feeble- 
minded, and  who  yet  possess  abilities  which,  not  dis- 
covered by  these  tests,  render  them  able  to  compete  in 
an  ordinary  environment.  Then,  there  remains  a  group, 
by  Healy  called  the  subnormal,  of  those  who,  while  defi- 
nitely lacking  in  the  higher  mental  powers  as  estimated 
by  tests,  yet  pass  the  Binet  twelve-year  level  and  possess 
special  abilities  of  social  significance.  It  is  these  two 
latter  classes  that  we  have  in  mind  in  our  discussion  of 
defective  individuals  with  special  abilities.1 

No  doubt,  many  a  person  somewhat  defective  mentally 
is  performing  satisfactorily  some  type  of  lowly  work,  and 

1  It  is  interesting  in  this  connection  to  note  that  neither  of  these  last 
two  groups  conforms  to  the  now  widely  accepted  definition  of  feeble- 
mindedness formulated  in  accordance  with  social  implications.  The 
British  Royal  Commission  for  the  Study  of  the  Feeble-minded  in  1908 
defined  the  feeble-minded  person  as  one  who,  suffering  from  incomplete 
cerebral  development,  is  unable  to  perform  his  duties  as  a  member  of 
society  in  the  position  to  which  he  was  born.  The  remarkable  new 
Illinois  statute,  framed  in  1915,  giving  legal  power  of  commitment  of 
the  feeble-minded,  states  that  the  criterion  of  feeble-mindedness  in  an 
individual  is  mental  defect  of  a  degree  rendering  him  incapable  of  man- 
aging himself  and  his  affairs.  This  would  indicate  that  in  spite  of 
possible  failure  on  psychological  tests,  the  person  who,  for  one  reason  or 
another,  is  able  to  care  for  himself  and  to  succeed  among  his  fellow  men 
from  an  economic  and  moral  standpoint,  cannot  properly  be  designated 
as  feeble-minded. 


10      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

many  more  could  be  educated  to  be  economically  independ- 
ent and  useful  if  special  abilities  were  sought  and  trained. 
It  is  here  the  world  at  large  is  in  great  need  of  further  study 
of  defective  individuals  not  segregated  in  institutions.  In 
spite  of  much  discussion  and  the  formulation  of  many 
generalizations  in  regard  to  the  feeble-minded,  certain 
aspects  of  the  question  are  rarely  taken  into  account.  At 
present,  one  great  need  is  follow-up  work  in  connection 
with  this  type,  in  order  that  we  may  know  how  many 
succeed  in  the  world  and  why  they  are  successful.  Studies 
such  as  that  made  by  Weidensall,  who  found  in  a  group 
of  successful  maids  a  number  feeble-minded  as  gauged 
by  the  Binet  scale,  need  to  be  multiplied.  Comparative 
studies  of  groups  of  individuals  engaged  in  various  types 
of  occupations  are  now  being  undertaken  and  will,  no 
doubt,  be  of  great  value  in  aiding  us  to  reach  safer  con- 
clusions regarding  the  relationship  of  mental  defect  and 
industrial  capacity. 

Although  the  problem  of  the  out-and-out  defective, 
the  feeble-minded,  has  been  very  widely  discussed,  that 
of  the  individual  with  special  defect  and  the  subnormal 
with  special  ability  is  largely  neglected.  But  from  the 
standpoint  of  social  economy,  of  possible  constructive 
measures,  the  problem  of  special  abilities  and  disabilities 
is  exceedingly  important.  We  do  not  wish  to  minimize 
the  social  significance  of  the  feeble-minded,  involving  the 
protection  of  the  individual  and  of  society.  But  in  the 
case  of  individuals  with  special  defect  or  special  aptitude, 
it  is  a  question  of  positive  rather  than  of  negative  values, 
the  contributing  to  society  of  something  worth  while. 
Their  problem  is  not  that  of  segregation;  it  is,  rather, 
adjustment  to  the  social  organism. 

To  effect  the  best  possible  adjustment  of  any  individual 
to  the  group,  many  concrete  issues  must  be  taken  into 
account.  In  the  cases  where  unusual  conditions  obtain, 


THE   PROBLEM  11 

such  as  those  found  in  the  types  with  which  we  are  here 
concerned,  questions  of  etiology  and  certain  medical 
problems  as  well  as  some  social  conditions  are  to  be  ever 
thought  of  in  efforts  at  practical  solutions.  However, 
in  the  following  chapters,  the  discussion  of  individual 
adjustments  will  be  limited  to  educational  and  vocational 
considerations,  omitting  all  else. 


CHAPTER  II 
METHODS  OF  DIAGNOSIS 

CERTAIN  theoretical  aspects  of  the  problems  concerning 
special  abilities  and  special  disabilities  are  of  considerable 
interest.  They  deal  with  the  question  of  the  relations 
found  between  different  mental  traits  in  the  same  indi- 
vidual, including  the  degree  of  correlation  between  one 
mental  function  and  another,  and  the  proof  of  the  presence 
or  absence  of  mental  compensations.  Some  psychologists 
believe  that  defects  in  certain  fields  are  compensated  by 
unusual  excellence  in  other  fields,  a  theory  that  has  been 
held  on  the  basis  of  extreme  cases,  as  for  example,  the 
blind,  who  after  losing  sight  show  great  skill  in  other 
sensory  fields.  The  opponents  of  this  point  of  view  have, 
of  course,  interpreted  such  instances  as  evidence  only 
of  the  effect  of  intensive  training  made  necessary  through 
lack  of  some  sensory  functions. 

Another  point  of  interest  is  the  theoretical  problem 
whether  "all  branches  of  intellectual  activity  have  in 
common  one  fundamental  function  (or  group  of  func- 
tions) "  —  a  view  held  by  Spearman  and  his  followers. 
The  opposite  doctrine,  namely,  that  given  elements  in 
different  mental  functions  may  be  only  loosely  correlated, 
has  been  enunciated  by  Thorndike,  who  believes  that 
"measurements  reveal  a  high  degree  of  independence  of 
different  mental  functions  even  where  to  the  abstract 
psychological  theorist  they  have  seemed  nearly  identical." 

12 


METHODS  OF  DIAGNOSIS  13 

According  to  the  latter  view,  one  might  expect  to  find 
special  defect  or  unusual  ability  in  any  one  of  the  mental 
processes.  These  processes,  according  to  all  psycholo- 
gists, include  sensation,  perception,  apperception,  imagina- 
tion, memory,  association,  judgment,  and  reasoning,  as 
well  as  the  emotions  and  will,  the  latter  involving  inhibi- 
tion and  initiative.  To  this  list  must  be  added  the  pro- 
cesses concerned  with  motor  reactions. 

Or  we  can  think  of  our  problem  in  terms  of  reactions 
which  in  themselves  involve  various  combinations  of  the 
above  mental  processes.  From  this  viewpoint  we  can 
study  ability  in  the  realms  of  number  work,  language, 
reading,  spelling,  handwork,  and  the  other  school  sub- 
jects. Then,  too,  there  is  the  whole  question  of  complex 
functions,  such  as  foresight  and  general  powers  of  self- 
control.  We  might,  also,  consider  the  problem  of  the 
speed  of  mental  processes  and  reactions  rather  than  the 
character  of  the  product. 

In  other  words,  if  the  mind  represents  a  multitude  of 
functions,  we  might  expect  to  find  defect  or  exceptional 
ability  existing  in  any  one  function  or  in  activities  in- 
volving various  combinations  of  functions.  To  study  an 
individual  thoroughly  would  involve  knowing  not  only 
all  his  particular  acquirements,  but  all  the  possibilities 
and  potentialities  that  exist  in  highly  specialized  fields. 
Of  course,  this  is  an  ideal  that  we  can  scarcely  hope  to 
attain;  nor  is  it  necessary,  perhaps,  for  practical  pur- 
poses. Interesting  as  all  theoretical  questions  are,  we 
wish,  in  reality,  to  know  the  defects  that  are  stumbling 
blocks  in  the  individual's  career,  and  to  discover 
abilities  that  may  be  practically  utilized.  This  would 
be  the  great  step  forward. 

To  meet  these  issues  intelligently  there  must  be  inten- 
sive study  of  each  problem  individual.  For  school  pur- 
poses as  well  as  for  social  and  vocational  adjustments  it 


14      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

would  hardly  suffice  to  base  educational  methods  upon 
the  teacher's  judgment  or  upon  class  standing,  for  the 
former,  we  know,  is  often  somewhat  inaccurate,  and  the 
latter  tells  merely  the  subjects  in  which  the  pupil  fails  or 
excels,  nothing  as  to  the  cause  of  the  failure  or  as  to  the 
possible  existence  of  unused  talents.  This  is  no  reflec- 
tion upon  the  teacher,  for  it  would  be  impossible  to  deter- 
mine these  significant  points  without  analyzing  school 
activities  and  studying  the  mental  processes  which  under- 
lie them. 

What  means  can  be  employed  in  the  study  of  the  mental 
processes  involved  in  various  activities  which  will  reveal 
facts  significant  for  the  explanation  of  individual  differ- 
ences in  abilities?  Psychological  tests  are  now  quite 
widely  used  for  the  study  of  mentality,  the  commonest 
procedure  being  the  study  of  the  individual  by  means  of 
some  "measuring  scale."  The  best  known  of  these  is 
the  Binet-Simon  scale  for  measuring  intelligence,  or  some 
adaptation  or  revision  of  this,  such  as  Goddard's,  Terman 
and  Childs' ;  and  Kuhlmann's.  The  purpose  of  these 
scales  is  the  exploration  of  the  individual's  general  intelli- 
gence, the  estimation  of  ability  in  terms  of  age-levels 
whereby  the  individual  can  be  diagnosed  as  normal  in 
ability  or  retarded.  In  case  the  latter  is  true,  the 
amount  of  retardation  determines  whether  or  not  the 
individual  is  feeble-minded. 

I  shall  not  here  enter  into  any  criticism  regarding  these 
tests,  for  their  inadequacies  have  already  been  so  widely 
discussed.  A  "measuring  scale"  of  intelligence  gives  a 
convenient  starting  point  for  the  study  of  individuals 
and  has  certain  other  values.  It  is  in  such  general  use 
that  it  offers  a  convenient  method  for  the  comparison  of 
the  same  individual  by  different  persons;  the  age-level 
principle  on  which  tests  are  based  is  an  excellent  one  in 
some  ways;  the  form  in  which  results  are  stated  is  con- 


METHODS   OF  DIAGNOSIS  15 

venient  if  not  altogether  accurate.  However,  from  the 
present  point  of  view,  it  is  sufficient  to  state  that  the 
mental  functions  tested  thereby  are,  in  general,  quite 
similar,  and  for  this  very  reason  none  of  the  scales  now 
available  is  suited  to  our  purpose.  None  includes  tests 
for  a  wide  range  of  different  functions;  indeed,  many 
mental  functions  are  not  tested  at  all,  and  thus  we  are 
given  very  few  clues  to  particular  abilities  or  disabilities. 
While  it  is  of  great  value  to  gauge  a  person's  general 
intelligence  —  if  there  is  such  a  thing  —  and  to  place 
him  on  a  scale  as  compared  to  other  individuals,  yet  this 
throws  but  little  light  upon  the  problems  we  are  here 
discussing.  Whatever  the  value  of  any  such  given 
system,  it  would  seem  that  it  must  be  supplemented  by  a 
wide  range  of  other  tests  if  one  would  make  careful  studies 
upon  which  to  base  prognoses  and  recommendations  for 
practical  guidance. 

There  are  now  many  other  tests  available  for  the  study 
of  various  mental  processes,  many  more  than  can  be  here 
discussed ;  the  number  is  almost  legion,  and  new  ones  are 
being  devised  rapidly.  With  the  means  now  at  hand  a 
fairly  wide  range  of  capacities  can  be  studied.  I  shall 
simply  mention  some  which  we  know  by  experience  are 
valuable  for  practical  purposes  and  which  have  been  used 
in  the  study  of  problem  cases  later  presented. 

For  determining  an  individual's  success  in  solving  prob- 
lems involving  concrete  material  many  tests  are  now  in 
use.  The  simplest  of  these  are  the  so-called  Form  Boards, 
where  the  subject  has  only  to  distinguish  between  one 
form  and  another ;  there  are  the  Dearborn  and  the  Healy- 
Fernald  construction  tests;  the  so-called  Puzzle  Boxes; 
some  of  the  Knox  tests ;  the  Stenquist  test  for  mechanical 
ability,  and  many  others,  for  which  norms  are  being 
established  and  which  either  are  or  soon  will  be  ready  for 
general  use. 


16      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

Such  performance  tests  with  concrete  material  afford  a 
means  of  evaluating  the  individual's  ability  in  perception 
of  form  and  form  relationships.  Further,  they  enable 
one  to  gauge  the  subject's  method  of  attacking  a  problem ; 
for  instance,  the  test  may  be  solved  by  random  trial  and 
error  method,  or  by  procedure  which  the  individual  plans. 
One  of  the  most  illuminating  features  is  noting  whether 
the  subject  profits  by  experience,  whether  he  avoids  or 
repeats  impossibilities  and  unsuccessful  efforts.  The  im- 
provement made  on  later  retrials  gives  an  indication  of 
learning  ability  in  relation  to  a  particular  kind  of  situation. 
Any  differences  which  may  be  found  in  readiness  of  learn- 
ing, where  the  problems  are  presented  thus  concretely  as 
opposed  to  problems  presented  in  abstract  form,  become 
very  significant  from  the  standpoint  of  educational 
method.  Our  present-day  practice  still  emphasizes  very 
largely  the  acquiring  of  knowledge  through  abstract 
means,  and  rarely  is  this  preceded  by  actual  experience 
from  which  concepts  and  abstractions  are  in  reality 
derived. 

Aside  from  such  study  of  the  perceptual  processes  as 
are  required  in  dealing  with  the  above-mentioned  problems, 
many  other  means  are  available  for  testing  perception. 
Thus,  we  can  gauge  perception  of  color  as  well  as  of 
form,  and  ability  to  perceive  differences  between  various 
forms;  that  is,  to  discriminate  one  form  from  another. 
For  the  latter  purpose,  the  well-known  cancellation  tests 
may  be  used  and  others  based  upon  the  same  principle. 
Perceptions  in  the  abstract  field  involve  mental  traits 
which  will  be  discussed  under  the  reasoning  process.  In 
practical  problems  it  is  frequently  necessary  to  study  the 
individual's  powers  of  perception  with  different  kinds  of 
material,  as,  for  instance,  with  auditory  or  visual  stimuli. 
For  testing  the  former  there  have  been  devised  elaborate 
instruments  which  are  used  in  many  laboratories.  But 


METHODS   OF  DIAGNOSIS  17 

quite  as  valuable  for  ordinary  purposes  are  the  rather 
rough,  but  sufficiently  diagnostic  ordinary  speech  tests, 
such  as  the  repeating  of  phrases  or  stanzas  which  require 
good  discrimination  of  sound. 

Other  tests  are  especially  adapted  to  study  the  powers 
of  apperception.  The  ability  to  size  up  a  situation  and  to 
grasp  the  general  meaning  of  it  is  exceedingly  important 
in  all  activities  of  life,  beginning  earlier  than  the  school 
age  and  extending  long  past  it.  Here  is  involved  the 
relation  of  one  part  to  another;  perception  in  the  light 
of  something  which  has  gone  before.  Such  tests  are 
possible  for  the  apperception  of  ideas  expressed  in  pictorial 
form,  as  in  the  Healy  Pictorial  Completion  test,  and  of 
ideas  expressed  in  words,  as  in  the  Ebbinghaus  Mutilated 
Text.  The  work  of  Trabue  in  arranging  a  scale  for  the 
determination  of  apperception  of  ideas  as  expressed 
through  the  medium  of  written  language  will  no  doubt 
have  a  great  value  in  such  places  as  it  is  applicable. 

The  importance  of  memory  in  all  the  activities  of  life 
is  so  obvious  that  we  need  not  dwell  upon  it.  It  is  less 
commonly  recognized,  however,  that  memory  itself  is 
not  a  functional  unit ;  it  would  be  more  accurate  to  speak 
of  "memories",  since  the  ability  to  remember  in  one  field 
and  by  one  avenue  of  approach  is  not  always  closely  corre- 
lated with  memory  power  in  other  fields.  On  the  basis 
of  actual  study  of  individuals,  it  is  frequently  found  that 
good  memory  for  rote  material  does  not  necessarily  mean 
equally  good  memory  for  logical  material.  Even  in  rote 
memory  there  are  often  specializations,  for  the  span  for 
auditory  presentations  may  be  quite  different  from  that 
for  visual  presentations.  No  doubt  it  is  true  that  there 
are  differences  in  other  specialized  forms  of  memory,  such 
as  the  motor  and  kinsesthetic,  but  for  the  practical  pur- 
poses of  educational  training  the  above  mentioned  prob- 
ably constitute  the  main  fields  for  experimentation.  We 


18      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

must  distinguish,  too,  between  tests  for  immediate  and 
remote  memory,  the  former,  of  course,  implying  a  re- 
production that  immediately  follows  the  stimulus,  what- 
ever that  may  be,  and  the  latter  a  reproduction  that  follows 
after  intervals  that  vary  according  to  the  wish  of  the 
experimenter. 

Tests  for  memory  span  may  consist  of  numerals  or 
nonsense  syllables  presented  either  by  auditory  or  visual 
means.  Sometimes  lists  of  related  or  unrelated  words 
are  used,  whereas,  for  testing  logical  memory,  a  passage  in 
which  the  ideas  are  logically  related  is  used.  Experiments 
in  the  field  of  memory  have  shown  that  there  is,  in  general, 
a  high  correlation  for  various  phases  of  the  memory  pro- 
cess, but  it  is  unfortunately  true  that  exceptions  to  this 
in  individual  cases  are  frequently  found.  It  is  just  such 
exceptional  cases  that  are  often  school  and  vocational 
problems. 

Other  tests  are  especially  adapted  to  study  processes 
of  association,  either  the  control  of  old  associations  or 
the  ability  to  form  new  ones.  For  the  former  there  is  the 
free  association  test,  in  which  one  association  calls  up 
another  without  any  controlled  relationship,  or  the  well 
known  Kent-Rosanoff  test  in  which  the  subject  reacts 
by  giving  the  first  word  which  the  stimulus-word  suggests. 
In  the  Woodworth-Wells  association  tests  a  stimulus  is 
given,  to  which  the  subject  reacts  according  to  some 
principle  which  has  been  told  him;  he  gives  either  the 
opposite  of  a  word  or  a  superordinate,  or  a  word  which 
stands  in  some  other  particular  relationship  to  the  stimu- 
lus word.  These  tests  have  been  very  widely  used  in  the 
study  of  various  psychoses,  but  are  important  in  all 
studies  of  mentality,  for  they  give  a  clue  to  the  speed  as 
well  as  to  the  accuracy  of  the  association  processes. 

As  for  reasoning  ability,  here  again  we  must  remember 
we  are  not  dealing  with  a  unitary  process.  Reasoning 


METHODS    OF   DIAGNOSIS  19 

is  a  complex  activity  in  which  a  number  of  mental  pro- 
cesses are  involved ;  thus,  the  ability  to  form  mental  rep- 
resentations, to  analyze,  to  compare,  to  form  judgments, 
all  are  elements.  Likewise  one  may  be  able  to  reason 
very  well  in  certain  realms  and  fail  altogether  in  others. 
This  is  true,  aside  from  the  question  of  having  acquired 
such  knowledge  or  data  as  are  necessary  in  order  to  reason 
at  all.  There  are  certain  tests  for  the  purpose  of  studying 
the  separate  elements  which  enter  into  the  reasoning  pro- 
cesses and  still  others  intended  to  test  reasoning  as  a  whole 
in  its  relation  to  diverse  situations.  Some  of  the  Binet 
tests  deal  with  reasoning ;  Bonser  l  has  offered  a  number 
of  tests,  all  of  which  deal  with  reasoning,  though  the 
material  itself  is  quite  varied.  Terman's  tests  for  ingenu- 
ity, incorporated  in  his  intelligence  scale,  require  reasoning. 

Turning  for  a  moment  to  tests  for  the  different  psy- 
chological processes  which  are  factors  in  reasoning,  we 
find  that  for  study  of  powers  of  mental  representation 
there  are  the  well  known  Cross  Line  and  Code  tests,  which 
involve  analysis  and  to  some  extent  other  functions  as 
well,  since  visual  or  motor  imagery  may  play  quite  a  role. 
Ability  to  determine  mentally  similarities  and  differences 
is  required  in  some  of  the  Binet  tests,  where  remembered 
objects  are  to  be  compared,  and  in  tests  included  in  the 
Terman  revision.  Tests  for  judgment  vary  greatly, 
since  the  situations  requiring  this  mental  process  are  of 
all  kinds  and  descriptions.  Thus,  included  in  the  Binet 
series  are  some  very  simple  tests  requiring  judgment  in 
the  sensory  fields.  We  must  remember,  of  course,  that 
incidental  to  many  tests  one  can  determine  the  subject's 
ability  to  judge. 

For  studying  the  powers  of  psychomotor  control  there 
are  the  tests  requiring  apparatus,  such  as  the  "3-hole 

1  Bonser,  F.  G.,  "  Reasoning  Ability  of  Children  ",  "  Teachers  Col- 
lege Contributions  to  Education  ",  37,  1910. 


20      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

test",  where  the  task  is  to  hold  a  stylus  without  touching 
the,  sides  of  the  hole  in  which  it  is  inserted ;  or,  there  are 
simpler  tests,  such  as  drawing  a  line  between  two  given 
lines  without  touching  the  edges,  or  placing  a  dot  hi 
half-inch  squares  as  rapidly  as  possible  without  touch- 
ing the  lines  or  missing  the  squares.  These  tests  for 
psycho-motor  control,  or  motor  coordination,  may  be 
supplemented  by  other  tests  commonly  used  by  neurol- 
ogists. 

Mental  control  may  be  evaluated  by  results  achieved 
on  quite  a  varied  group  of  tests,  including  the  association 
tests,  already  mentioned,  and  the  Kraepelin  Continuous 
Addition  and  Subtraction  tests,  where  a  certain  number 
must  be  added  or  subtracted  continuously  from  some 
given  starting  point.  Here,  both  speed  and  accuracy 
are  significant.  Some  of  the  Rossolimo  tests,  such  as 
naming  the  months  backward,  or  obeying  several  com- 
mands simultaneously,  are  designed  for  this  same 
purpose. 

We  can  only  mention  briefly  a  few  other  tests  which 
are  practically  useful  in  diagnosing  abilities.  Among 
these,  one  interesting  and  important  group  of  tests  is 
designed  to  determine  the  subject's  ability  to  follow  direc- 
tions. Obeying  commands,  as  in  the  seven-year  Binet 
test,  offers  the  simplest  form,  while  the  Instruction  Box 
and  the  Knox  Cube  test  present  problems  concerned  with 
tasks  involving  concrete  material,  and  the  Woodworth- 
Wells  Direction  tests,  for  the  same  purpose,  present  the 
directions  in  printed  form.  Important  also  is  another 
group  of  tests  devised  to  show  the  individual's  ability  to 
formulate  generalizations  on  the  basis  of  repeated  experi- 
ence, as  in  the  so-called  Multiple  Choice  Test,  one  im- 
portant and  practically  useful  form  of  which  has  recently 
been  devised  by  Yerkes. 

Incidental  to  all  testing,  there  is  opportunity  for  ob- 


METHODS   OF  DIAGNOSIS  21 

serving'  power  of  attention  and  distractability,  qualities 
which  can  be  gauged  also  by  specific  tests  for  this  purpose. 
Characteristic  traits  such  as  persistence  and  determina- 
tion, as  opposed  to  easy  discouragement,  likewise  may 
be  noted. 

Concerning  the  emotions,  the  affective  side  of  life,  few 
tests  are  as  yet  in  use,  though  most  students  of  behavior 
appreciate  the  need  for  them.  Indeed,  it  is  quite  doubtful 
if  tests  will  ever  offer  an  effective  means  of  studying  these 
complex  aspects  of  mentality.  The  situations  which  in 
real  life  call  the  emotions  into  play  are  not  easily  duplicated 
in  the  laboratory,  and  artificial  stimuli  for  arousing  them 
necessarily  would  result  in  totally  different  reactions. 
How  can  one  study  experimentally  love  and  hate  as  they 
affect  behavior?  Or  what  can  tests  reveal  concerning 
the  formation  and  results  of  anti-social  grudges?  Judg- 
ment as  to  defects  in  emotional  life,  as  well  as  in  regard  to 
will,  must  be  based  very  largely  if  not  altogether  upon  the 
individual's  social  reactions.  Recognition  of  individual 
differences  in  strength  of  the  emotions,  in  powers  of  inhibi- 
tion and  self-control,  will  probably  always  rest  mainly 
upon  evidence  gleaned  from  general  behavior  and  inci- 
dental reactions  rather  than  upon  results  obtained  by  use 
of  one  psychological  test  or  series  of  tests. 

As  for  the  school  subjects,  we  can,  of  course,  determine 
more  or  less  accurately  the  results  that  have  accrued  from 
the  years  spent  in  the  schoolroom.  Where  failure  to 
profit  by  educational  opportunities  is  due  to  real  defect, 
it  becomes  essential  to  study  the  processes  involved.  Al- 
though the  psychology  of  the  school  subjects  is  as  yet 
largely  unknown,  and,  as  we  have  already  stated,  this 
limits  the  possibility  of  reaching  a  satisfactory  explana- 
tion of  all  instances  of  school  failures,  yet  one  must  go  as 
far  as  is  possible  in  an  effort  to  find  the  causes  upon  which 
alone  remedial  measures  can  be  undertaken.  We  shall 


22      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

discuss  these  questions  more  fully  as  problems  of  various 
kinds  are  presented.1 

Of  course,  intensive  study  by  means  of  a  wide  range  of 
tests  requires  a  great  amount  of  time.  The  more  thorough 
the  study  and  the  more  one  endeavors  to  make  a  complete 
survey  of  the  individual's  capacities  in  various  directions, 
the  more  time  is  needed.  But  the  value  of  the  findings 
and  the  accuracy  of  the  results  are  in  direct  proportion  to 
the  time  expended.  Then,  too,  the  clinical  psychologist 
must  be  familiar  with  a  wide  range  of  tests,  and  in  certain 
instances  must  have  sufficient  ingenuity  to  adapt  means 
to  the  problem  in  hand. 

Furthermore,  he  must  have  the  ability  to  analyze  the 
results,  since  often  it  is  not  sufficient  merely  to  compare 
findings  with  established  norms ;  it  is  even  more  necessary 
to  interpret  divergences.  The  ideal  diagnostician  would, 
no  doubt,  be  difficult  to  find,  since  medical  and  neurologi- 
cal training,  general  psychological  knowledge,  and  experi- 
ence in  clinical  psychology  ought  to  be  supplemented  by 
experience  in  the  educational  field.  We  can  only  hope 
to  approximate  this  ideal.  We  can,  at  least,  demand  a 
person  who  has  had  fairly  wide  training  and  experience, 
who  realizes  the  various  aspects  which  may  be  condition- 
ing factors,  and  who  supplements  his  own  knowledge  by 
consulting  others  who  can  add  the  facts  needed  to  make 
well-rounded  studies  possible. 

1  Such  a  book  as  Freeman's  "Experimental  Education"  (1916)  gives 
only  a  partial  analysis  of  the  school  subjects,  and  while  suggestive  and 
helpful,  it  does  not  offer  much  practical  help  in  the  solution  of  problem 


CHAPTER  III 
DIFFERENTIAL  DIAGNOSIS 

IN  the  preceding  chapter  we  have  discussed  the  possi- 
bility of  studying  in  detail  the  various  mental  processes 
in  their  relationship  to  the  capabilities  of  the  individual. 
However,  before  there  can  be  a  final  diagnosis  upon  which 
to  base  practical  procedure,  certain  interpretative  con- 
siderations must  be  weighed.  The  psychological  examina- 
tion is  not  sufficient  in  and  of  itself  to  enable  one  to  reach 
a  diagnosis ;  rather,  here,  as  in  medicine,  we  need  differ- 
ential diagnosis.  This  means  a  much  broader  acquaint- 
ance with  the  problems  of  psychopathology  than  mere 
familiarity  with  tests  indicates.  Abnormal  reactions  to 
tests  are  outward  signs  that  require  interpretation,  since 
they  may  be  due  to  any  one  of  a  number  of  causes.  Hence, 
the  various  possibilities  must  be  known  and  considered 
before  concluding  that  we  have  a  case  of  either  general 
mental  defect  or  special  mental  disability. 

Here  should  be  emphasized  the  fact  that  data  must  be 
gathered  from  various  sources  in  order  to  make  an  in- 
telligent study  of  an  individual.  Even  for  educational 
diagnosis  much  more  is  needed  than  the  findings  obtained 
from  psychological  tests.  Adequate  case-studies  here, 
as  in  other  problems,  require  a  knowledge  of  the  condi- 
tions in  the  background,  including  data  concerning 
heredity,  family  history,  developmental  history  and  en- 
vironmental conditions.  One  can  intelligently  under- 
stand an  individual  only  in  the  light  of  all  these  facts. 

23 


24      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

Differential  diagnosis  of  special  ability  hardly  needs 
discussion  since  any  unusual  capacity  in  a  special  field 
is  a  positive  fact  needing  no  further  interpretation.  In 
both  normal  individuals  and  defectives  it  is  necessary 
to  test  the  different  mental  functions  in  order  that  where 
special  abilities  exist  they  may  be  brought  to  light.  The 
only  generalization  that  needs  emphasis  is  that  in  order 
to  discover  special  gifts  there  must  be  a  search  for  them. 
That  is,  a  wide  enough  range  of  tests  must  be  used  to 
give  each  individual  a  chance  to  display  his  capacities. 
Once  discovered,  there  should  follow  a  proper  evaluation 
of  abilities,  as  is  not  commonly  done,  for  it  is  the  part 
of  common  sense  to  utilize  for  the  benefit  of  the  individ- 
ual and  society  such  gifts  as  exist. 

Differential  diagnosis  of  special  defects  is  a  much  more 
complex  problem,  since,  in  general,  negative  results  may 
be  due  to  exceedingly  varied  causes.  Irregularity  in 
test  results,  which,  on  superficial  view,  might  seem  in- 
dicative of  special  defect,  may,  for  example,  be  due  in- 
stead to  poor  physical  conditions.  This  necessitates  a 
physical  examination  in  the  case  of  every  individual  who 
is  studied.  Physical  disability  preventing  the  best 
achievement  of  which  one  is  capable  may  be  reflected 
in  work  in  the  laboratory  where  mental  examinations 
are  made,  in  the  schoolroom,  or  in  the  shop. 

Interest  and  zest  for  mental  pursuits  is  sometimes 
maintained  in  spite  of  poor  physical  background,  we 
know ;  such  studies  as  those  of  Gulick  and  Ayres *  have 
shown  this.  Nevertheless,  it  is  not  true  in  all  cases. 
We  ourselves  know  instances  where,  with  improved 
health,  the  reports  on  conduct  and  school  standing,  and 
also  the  industrial  record,  were  greatly  changed.  We 
know,  too,  cases  where  findings  on  tests  were  altogether 

1  Gulick  and  Ayres,  "Medical  Inspection  of  Schools",  Chapter  XII, 
1908. 


DIFFERENTIAL  DIAGNOSIS  25 

different  after  the  child  had  been  built  up  physically. 
Anemia,  malnutrition,  or  debility  following  illness,  is 
sometimes  the  explanation  of  mental  dullness  which 
might  be  confused  with  innate  defect.  In  all  such  cases 
it  seems  only  fair  to  give  the  individual  the  benefit  of 
the  doubt.  He  needs,  in  any  case,  all  the  physical  help 
which  can  be  given  him,  and  unless  the  mental  disability 
is  so  extreme  as  to  preclude  any  possibility  of  poor  physical 
conditions  as  an  explanation,  the  final  diagnosis  should 
be  held  in  abeyance.  To  be  remembered  always,  par- 
ticularly with  young  children,  are  the  recently  studied 
disturbances  of  function  of  the  glands  of  internal  secre- 
tion. Both  we  and  many  others  have  seen  results  noth- 
ing short  of  marvelous  through  treatment  of  these  troubles 
in  children  who  appeared  exceedingly  dull  in  some  aspect 
of  their  mental  life.  This  makes  us  all  the  more  conscious 
of  the  contributions  that  future  research  may  bring  forth 
concerning  relationships  between  physical  and  mental 
conditions. 

Case  1.  By  way  of  illustration  of  the  effect  of  physical 
conditions  on  mental  life,  we  cite  the  case  of  Edith  N., 
who  represents  findings  that  are  not  at  all  uncommon  in 
our  experience.1  When  twelve  years  old  she  was  brought 
to  the  clinic  by  her  mother.  At  that  time  she  was  in 
the  fourth  grade  of  the  public  school.  We  found  her  to 
be  in  very  poor  condition  physically,  suffering  from 
anemia,  defective  vision,  enlarged  glands;  there  was  a 
history  of  former  otorrhea ;  the  girl  was  dull  and  listless, 

1  The  case-studies  which  are  cited  throughout  are  selected  solely 
to  illustrate  the  various  types  of  abilities  and  disabilities,  irrespective 
of  age,  sex,  or  nationality.  That  they  include  many  more  instances 
of  males  than  females  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  in  our  clinic  where 
court  cases  are  largely  studied,  the  number  of  males  exceeds  by  far  the 
number  of  females.  Should  any  actual  sex  differences  exist,  they  could 
only  be  determined  on  the  basis  of  large  numbers  of  unselected  cases, 
a  requirement  which  even  our  extensive  material  does  not  meet. 

The  detailed  results  of  psychological  examinations  for  each  case  will 
be  found  in  the  appendix. 


26      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

and  the  results  on  psychological  tests  were  very  poor. 
According  to  Binet  scale  she  ranged  as  9f  years  mentally. 
She  failed  on  our  simpler  Construction  Test  and  did  very 
little  in  the  way  of  school  work,  failing  to  spell  correctly 
anything  but  the  easiest  words,  or  to  solve  any  number 
work  but  the  very  simplest.  The  case  was  referred  to 
a  clinic  for  physical  treatment  and  later  to  a  convalescent 
home. 

Thirteen  months  after  this  we  had  occasion  to  study 
this  case  once  more.  We  found  then  that  our  advice 
had  been  acted  upon,  with  the  result  that  the  girl  had 
improved  immensely.  She  had  gained  about  twenty-six 
pounds  in  weight,  had  grown  an  inch;  her  vision  was 
corrected  by  glasses,  her  throat  was  in  good  condition, 
tonsils  and  adenoids  had  been  removed.  Altogether  she 
showed  a  wonderful  improvement.  The  interesting 
feature  from  the  point  of  view  of  our  present  discussion 
was  the  tremendous  gain  which  we  found  on  the  mental 
side.  She  now  passed  up  through  the  twelve-year  Binet 
tests;  solved  correctly  the  Construction  Test,  which 
was  previously  a  failure,  as  well  as  a  more  difficult  one, 
which  had  not  been  tried  before.  A  number  of  other 
tests  corroborated  these  findings.  We  noted  that  she 
still  was  very  poor  in  school  work,  but  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  during  the  intervening  period  she  had  prac- 
tically no  opportunity  of  attending  school.  Further- 
more, she  showed  little  interest  in  school;  perhaps  her 
discouragement  was  a  natural  state  of  affairs,  since  she 
was  in  a  very  low  grade  for  a  girl  of  her  age.  But  it 
would  be  the  height  of  folly  to  state  that  her  school 
retardation  was  an  evidence  of  innate  mental  defect, 
just  as  earlier  it  would  have  been  altogether  unfair  not 
to  have  taken  into  account  the  effect  of  the  poor  physical 
conditions  upon  test  results. 

We  may  note  that  there  are  three  general  aspects  to 


DIFFERENTIAL   DIAGNOSIS  27 

the  problem  of  the  relation  of  physical  disability  to 
mental  performance.  First,  poor  physical  conditions 
may  not  affect  the  quality  of  mental  activities  at  all; 
second,  psychological  examination  in  the  laboratory  may 
not  reveal  the  influence  of  poor  physical  status  on  mental 
achievement,  particularly  if  the  examination  is  brief 
and  hence  requires  little  prolonged  attention  and  effort. 
But  inability  to  cope  with  the  requirements  of  school 
life  may  nevertheless  be  the  direct  result  of  the  lack  of 
physical  vigor  and  health.  Third,  poor  physical  condi- 
tions may  directly  affect  performance  on  tests  as  well 
as  other  mental  effort. 

It  can  readily  be  understood  that  in  reaching  a  diagnosis 
of  mental  capacities  one  must  be  careful  not  to  confuse 
innate  disability  with  special  defect  due  to  a  defective 
sensory  organ.  I  need  but  mention  troubles  with  vision 
and  hearing.  It  requires  hardly  a  moment's  reflection 
to  be  convinced  of  the  vast  amount  of  routine  school 
work  that  is  profitless  to  a  child  who  either  cannot  see 
or  hear  normally.  It  is  quite  generally  recognized  that 
sensory  defects  frequently  act  as  irritants,  influencing  a 
wider  range  of  activity  than  those  correlated  with  the 
actual  sense  organ  itself.  Eye  strain  coupled  with  visual 
defect  leads  to  nervousness  and  irritability;  the  conse- 
quences of  several  types  of  ear  troubles,  such  as  variability 
of  hearing  that  accompanies  otorrhea,  are  equally  im- 
portant. Many  a  child  is  accounted  stupid  who  is  really 
dull  from  remediable  sensory  defects.  Much  as  these 
subjects  have  been  discussed,  ,we  find  many  instances 
where  there  has  been  utter  neglect  of  such  troubles.  In 
spite  of  our  present  method  of  medical  inspection  in 
schools,  there  are,  we  know  from  experience,  many  cases 
of  children  who  have  unrecognized  physical  ailments 
which  affect  their  school  work  to  an  extent  that  is  alto- 
gether unappreciated. 


28      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

Case  2.  Recently  a  nine-year  old  boy  was  brought  to 
us  because,  on  the  basis  of  supposed  defect  for  school 
work,  he  was  believed  to  be  a  suitable  subject  for  the 
state  institution  for  the  feeble-minded.  He  had  attended 
school  for  three  years  and  was  still  in  the  first  grade. 
He  was  indeed  dull  looking,  and  had  one  dared  form  an 
impression  from  his  appearance  and  listless  manner, 
one  might  have  concluded  that  the  boy  was  mentally 
defective.  Physical  examination  showed  him  to  be 
virtually  blind  in  one  eye  with  vision  about  two  thirds 
of  normal  in  the  other.  He  was  a  sufferer  from  chronic 
otorrhea,  and  when  examined  in  the  clinic  he  was  found 
to  be  partially  deaf.  Inquiry  regarding  the  school  career 
elicited  the  fact  that  the  boy  had  never  been  examined 
by  the  school  physician,  that  no  recognition  had  ever 
been  made  of  the  fact  that  he  was  suffering  from  sensory 
defects  which  required  immediate  attention.  Psycho- 
logical examination  proved  that  the  boy  tested  almost 
normal  for  his  age. 

Case  3.  For  similar  reasons  we  studied  a  boy  where 
the  neglect  of  visual  defect  was  equally  egregious.  He, 
too,  was  considered  by  his  teachers  as  unable  to  learn 
school  subjects,  but  a  careful  mental  examination  by  us 
showed  the  boy  was  rather  in  advance  of  his  chrono- 
logical age,  and  was  suffering  from  excessive  visual  defect. 
Sent  to  a  correctional  institution,  he  had  broken  his 
glasses  shortly  after  commitment,  and  during  the  nine 
months  which  intervened  between  that  time  and  our 
examination,  his  eyes  had  never  been  retested  nor  had 
glasses  been  obtained  for  him,  and  yet,  in  this  case,  the 
main  reason  for  commitment  was  to  give  the  lad  edu- 
cational opportunities. 

So  obvious  is  the  distinction  between  special  defect  in 
the  language  field  and  poor  results  on  tests  due  to  speech 
defect,  that  we  need  but  mention  it.  It  is  quite  gener- 


DIFFERENTIAL  DIAGNOSIS  29 

ally  recognized  that  stuttering  or  stammering  may  re- 
tard normal  progress  as  well  as  become  a  great  factor  in 
conduct  problems.  Of  course,  such  defects  can  scarcely 
be  overlooked  in  mental  examination,  and  the  only  caution 
to  be  observed  is  a  proper  interpretation  of  the  extent 
of  the  influence  on  both  test  results  and  school  standing. 
Any  diagnosis  of  mentality  based  solely  on  Binet  or  any 
"measuring  scale",  which  consists  largely  of  language 
tests,  is  altogether  to  be  discountenanced  in  the  study  of 
individuals  with  speech  defects. 

Nervous  disorders  of  one  kind  or  another  are,  as  one 
would  expect,  important  influences  in  mental  life,  caus- 
ing peculiarities  which  may  lead  to  test  results  that  can 
readily  be  confused  with  special  defect,  hence  differential 
diagnosis  here  becomes  of  exceeding  importance.  This  is 
notably  true  in  cases  of  hysteria  because  of  the  reactions 
which  characterize  this  nervous  disease.  Janet 1  and 
other  authorities  agree  that  in  practically  all  cases  of 
hysteria  there  is  great  variability  in  the  functioning  of 
the  mental  processes,  that  want  of  mental  unity  and 
deficiency  of  inhibition  are  essential  features  of  the  dis- 
order. There  is  often  extreme  dissociation  in  the  mental 
life  and  lack  of  control  of  both  the  emotions  and  of  volun- 
tary actions.  The  contradictory  behavior  to  which  this 
leads  is  a  notable  accompaniment  of  the  disease.  Fre- 
quently, too,  there  is  simulation,  so  that  the  reactions  of 
such  persons  are  altogether  unreliable. 

These  characteristic  symptoms  are  such  that  when 
diagnosis  of  hysteria  has  been  made,  it  becomes  extremely 
dangerous  to  designate  the  individual  as  feeble-minded  on 
the  basis  of  tests.  There  are,  indeed,  two  aspects  that 
must  be  remembered  in  this  problem.  On  the  one  hand, 
it  is  not  contended  by  any  authority  that  the  diagnosis 
of  hysteria  can  be  made  on  the  basis  of  mental  tests  alone, 

1  Janet,  Pierre,  "The  Major  Symptoms  of  Hysteria!',  1907. 


30      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  best  authorities  would  be 
equally  as  unwilling  to  state  that  mental  tests  are  not 
directly  affected  by  hysteria.  Remembering  the  mental 
states  of  hystericals  as  described  by  Janet  and  others, 
it  is  to  be  expected  that  this  disease  will  influence  greatly 
the  results  of  the  psychological  examination.  The  poor 
powers  of  control,  together  with  definite  inhibitions  which 
sometimes  occur,  the  dissociations  and  simulations,  fre- 
quently, if  not  always,  play  a  great  role  in  the  mental 
findings. 

We  ourselves  have  noted  again  and  again  the  extraor- 
dinary variability  in  the  mental  processes  that  ac- 
companies hysteria.  Sometimes  because  of  very  definite 
attitude  or  simulation  of  one  kind  or  another,  the  peculiar- 
ity may  be  evidenced  on  tests  of  one  kind  alone,  in  which 
case  the  differential  diagnosis  between  this  and  specialized 
defect  becomes  very  important. 

Case  4.  We  might  quote  from  our  own  experience 
the  instance  of  a  girl  whom  we  studied  at  various  times 
over  an  interval  of  two  and  a  half  years.  She  had  been 
tested  in  several  other  laboratories,  in  one  of  which  she 
was  diagnosed  as  feeble-minded,  a  diagnosis  made,  no 
doubt,  without  any  recognition  of  the  fact  that  she  was 
unmistakably  a  case  of  hysteria,  and  that  therefore  actual 
test  results  required  interpretation  in  the  light  of  this 
fact.  Knowing  the  dangers  inherent  in  such  a  situation, 
we  were  for  long  unwilling  to  make  a  definite  statement 
regarding  the  girl's  innate  mental  ability.  Her  reactions 
when  first  tested  were  significant  because  of  their  great 
irregularity.  When  seen  some  tune  later,  we  felt  the 
psychological  findings  were  still  unreliable,  owing  to  a 
distinctly  bad  attitude  which  the  girl  still  assumed. 
Eventually,  however,  we  had  an  opportunity  of  stimulat- 
ing her  powers  of  self-control,  due  to  the  fact  that  she  her- 
self knew  her  immediate  future  depended  very  largely 


DIFFERENTIAL   DIAGNOSIS  31 

on  the  outcome  of  the  psychological  examination,  since 
the  question  was  to  be  settled  regarding  her  return  to  a 
correctional  institution,  her  transfer  to  a  school  for  the 
feeble-minded,  or  her  living  in  a  private  home.  Under 
these  conditions  we  found  that  the  girl  was  innately 
quite  capable;  that  she  could  cope  successfully  with  a 
number  of  difficult  tests.  Only  where  particularly  good 
mental  control  was  required  were  the  results  below  normal. 
In  their  entirety,  the  test  results  were  remarkably  better 
than  those  found  earlier  by  any  one. 

The  irregular  mental  functioning  of  chorea  must  be 
interpreted  in  the  light  of  the  nervous  disturbance. 
The  findings  on  tests  are  often  curiously  bizarre  and  may 
lead  to  fallacious  conclusions  concerning  special  defect  if 
the  fact  of  the  disease  is  not  taken  into  account.  Clinical 
psychologists  should  remember  that  in  rare  cases  the  only 
signs  of  chorea  may  be  the  mental  disturbance  and  that 
some  authorities  contend  that  in  every  case  mental  func- 
tioning is  at  some  time  affected. 

In  differential  diagnosis  of  special  defect  we  must 
likewise  consider  the  question  of  epilepsy,  including  the 
major  and  minor  forms  of  the  disease.  All  epileptologists 
unite  in  stating  that  mental  peculiarities  are  found  in  as 
great  or  even  greater  measure  in  individuals  subject  to 
minor  attacks  as  when  convulsions  occur.  One  of  the 
notable  peculiarities  displayed  by  epileptics  is  the  vari- 
ability of  their  mental  processes  from  day  to  day  and 
in  one  field  as  compared  to  another.  Very  frequently 
the  results  on  tests  performed  at  one  sitting  are  exceed- 
ingly irregular,  and  they  may  be  found  to  vary  consider- 
ably on  retesting  on  another  day.  This  is  true  apart 
from  the  fact  that  the  mind  is  affected  by  actual  epileptic 
attacks;  not  only  is  there  variance  in  mental  processes 
either  immediately  before  or  after  a  seizure,  but  in  many 
instances  the  general  variability  of  the  epileptic's  mental 


32      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

powers  is  equally  characteristic  at  all  times.  When  the 
careful  investigation  of  developmental  history  that  should 
always  be  made  in  cases  of  apparent  special  mental  defect 
indicates  the  presence  of  epilepsy,  test  results  must  be 
interpreted  in  the  light  of  this  fact.  It  would  be  a 
very  questionable  procedure  to  reach  a  final  diagnosis 
of  the  mentality  of  the  epileptic  on  the  basis  of  one  ex- 
amination, if  results  apparently  showed  defective  powers. 
Of  course,  this  is  not  equally  true  in  instances  where  it  is 
readily  found  that  the  epileptic  individual  is  bright  or 
normal  mentally,  as  may  frequently  be  the  case. 

Sometimes  mental  dullness  caused  by  excessive  use 
of  tea  or  coffee,  or  by  smoking  indulged  in  to  an  extreme 
degree,  exhibits  itself  in  a  form  which  makes  observers 
suspicious  of  specialized  defect.  This  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  such  habits  may  bring  about  lack  of  self-control, 
lack  of  interest,  and  inability  to  sustain  attention.  Hence, 
tasks  which  require  persistent  effort  or  continuity  of 
purpose  may  be  badly  performed  although  there  is  no 
innate  defect  to  account  for  this. 

Case  5.  We  here  may  cite  the  case  of  a  boy  in  the 
subnormal  room  of  the  public  school  who  was  accounted 
exceedingly  dull  by  his  teacher  because,  while  he  was 
able  to  do  fairly  well  certain  tasks  which  aroused  his 
interest,  yet  he  made  little  progress  in  abstract  work. 
On  psychological  examination  we  found  him  to  be  ex- 
ceedingly apathetic  and  unwilling  to  exert  himself,  fre- 
quently preferring  to  say  that  he  could  not  do  a  test 
rather  than  to  try.  When  stimulated  to  make  an  effort, 
he  solved  correctly  problems  which  he  had  previously 
given  up.  We,  too,  noted  the  irregular  test  results,  for 
he  made  quite  a  good  record  on  performance  tests  which 
awakened  his  interest,  but  failed  very  frequently  on  tests 
of  the  questionnaire  type.  Naturally,  this  affected  the 
J3inet  score  markedly.  Investigation  of  the  family  cir- 


DIFFERENTIAL  DIAGNOSIS  33 

cumstances  revealed  the  fact  that  there  was  extreme 
poverty,  that  several  social  agencies  were  supplying 
help,  that  the  main  article  of  the  boy's  diet  was  coffee, 
which  he  drank  to  excess.  This  was  quite  enough  to 
account  for  both  the  nervous  irritability,  leading  to  bad 
conduct,  and  the  mental  apathy,  leading  to  poor  school 
work. 

The  relationship  of  alcoholism  to  mental  disturbances 
which  might  be  confused  with  special  defect  needs  men- 
tion, though  it  should  be  added  that  very  rarely  does  this 
problem  present  itself  practically,  because  alcoholism  in 
individuals  young  enough  to  be  brought  to  the  clinic  is 
very  infrequent.  Although  the  number  of  such  cases 
in  our  own  experience  has  not  been  large,  yet  we  have 
seen  adolescents  whose  mental  processes  functioned  most 
irregularly  because  of  indulgence  in  alcohol.  After  the 
effect  of  this  stimulant  had  worn  off,  the  test  results  were 
quite  different  from  what  was  obtained  in  earlier  testing. 
The  kind  of  irregularity  found  may  vary  from  one  case  to 
another,  exhibiting  itself  either  in  failure  on  tests  which 
require  good  mental  control,  or  on  tests  of  some  type 
which  fail  to  awaken  interest.  Parenthetically,  it  may 
be  interesting  to  mention  that  the  selective  effect  of 
alcoholism  is  clearly  seen  in  Korsakow's  syndrome, 
where,  temporarily  at  least,  the  individual  loses  certain 
powers,  such  as  memory  for  recent  events  and  orientation 
in  time  relationships. 

In  the  enumeration  of  conditions  which  have  caused 
mental  irregularities  that  require  differentiation  from 
special  defect,  one  of  exceeding  importance  must  be  in- 
cluded, which,  because  often  learned  only  through  obtain- 
ing the  child's  confidence,  is  frequently  entirely  over- 
looked. I  refer  to  the  excessive  indulgence  in  bad  sex 
practices  so  commonly  accompanied  by  extreme  mental 
debility  and  causing  results  on  tests  that  are  often  mis- 


34      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

interpreted.  It  is  a  very  interesting  fact  that  such  habits 
do  not  necessarily  lead  to  general  mental  dullness  so  much 
as  to  lack  of  energy  and  mental  apathy  which  shows  it- 
self in  the  inability  to  concentrate  and  maintain  attention. 
For  this  reason  tests  which  are  rapidly  completed  are 
performed  satisfactorily,  in  contradistinction  to  failure 
on  work  which  requires  continuity  of  purpose  and  steadi- 
ness of  attention.  Because  of  this,  such  cases  may  readily 
be  confused  with  problems  of  true  special  defect.  The 
retesting  of  such  individuals  is  a  matter  of  extreme  in- 
terest, for  we  have  noted  again  and  again  that  with  the 
conquering  of  bad  habits  there  results  great  improvement 
on  mental  tasks. 

Practically  the  only  major  psychosis  that  requires 
differentiation  from  special  defect  among  adolescents  is 
dementia  praecox.  Where  other  insanities  occur,  where 
there  is  melancholia  or  mania,  the  symptoms  are  so  pro- 
nounced that  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  diagnosis. 
As  for  dementia  prcecox,  how  can  it  be  distinguished 
from  special  defect?  We  know  that  this  mental  disease 
is  characterized  by  lack  of  energy  and  diminution  in  the 
power  of  application;  there  is  usually  great  torpidity 
and  inattention,  while  the  association  processes  are  dis- 
turbed, especially  from  the  standpoint  of  time  reactions. 
But  the  individual's  attitude  toward  the  world  in 
general  is  the  main  characteristic  which  leads  to  sus- 
picion of  aberration,  and  in  this  respect  individuals  suffer- 
ing from  dementia  praecox  are  so  unlike  normal  individ- 
uals with  special  defect  that  there  is  little  likelihood  of 
making  an  error  if  one  keeps  in  mind  the  special  traits 
which  distinguish  this  psychosis.  In  this  connection  it 
must  ever  be  remembered  that  mental  aberration  may 
affect  test  results  to  such  an  extent  that  it  becomes 
impossible  to  determine  how  innately  capable  an  in- 
dividual really  is.  Diagnosis  in  regard  to  native  capacity 


DIFFERENTIAL  DIAGNOSIS  35 

must,  therefore,  in  such  cases,  be  held  in  abeyance,  or 
at  least  only  tentatively  stated. 

Where  severe  head  injuries  have  been  received,  leading 
to  what  is  generally  known  as  traumatic  constitution, 
one  may  find  peculiarities  in  the  functioning  of  the  mental 
processes  which  are  somewhat  similar  to  results  due  to 
special  defect.  The  instability  that  arises  from  such 
injuries,  lack  of  good  powers  of  control  and  persistence, 
causes  certain  types  of  work  to  be  badly  performed. 

Case  6.  A  boy  who  had  suffered  a  severe  head  injury 
when  nine  years  old  was  studied  at  our  clinic,  where  it 
was  found  that  the  lad  was  extremely  bright.  He  was 
now  fifteen  years  of  age,  had  reached  eighth  grade  and 
was  able  to  do  well  quite  difficult  school  work.  Later 
this  boy  was  examined  by  a  psychologist  who  diagnosed 
the  case  as  one  of  feeble-mindedness,  a  conclusion 
based  on  Binet  findings.  In  discussing  several  diffi- 
cult tests  which  were  performed  very  well,  the  opinion 
was  rendered  that  these  were  merely  evidences  of  nar- 
rowly specialized  ability.  The  fact  that  this  boy  could 
do  difficult  problems  in  arithmetic  by  ingenious  and 
economical  methods,  though  he  made  a  poor  record  on 
the  Courtis  tests  which  require  long  continued  powers 
of  attention,  was  not  interpreted  in  the  light  of  traumatic 
constitution,  although  this  is  a  point  of  much  importance. 
The  difficult  tasks  which  elicited  interest  and  which 
could  be  rather  quickly  performed  were  done  very  well, 
although  much  more  simple  tests  of  the  questionnaire 
type  were  failures.  It  was  because  of  the  poor  record 
on  such  questionnaire  and  language  tests  that  the  boy 
was  considered  feeble-minded.  The  inconsistency  be- 
tween the  failures  on  simple  work  and  the  successes  on 
more  difficult  tasks  should  have  made  the  experimenter 
seek  explanation  other  than  that  of  innate  general  defect. 

Seen  still  later  in  our  clinic,  the  test  results  were  very 


36      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

different  from  the  last  ones  reported  to  us.  Even  by 
Binet  tests  no  mental  defect  was  found ;  the  tests  for 
upper  years  were  done  exceptionally  well,  as  were,  in- 
deed, many  other  fairly  difficult  mental  tasks.  The 
explanation  of  these  incontrovertible  findings  can  only 
be  the  variations  in  mental  functionings  which  are  prone 
to  occur,  perhaps  on  the  basis  of  emotional  attitude,  in 
cases  of  traumatic  constitution. 

We  cannot  here  enter  into  a  thorough  discussion  of  the 
problem  of  the  constitutional  inferior.  For  details  we 
refer  the  reader  to  the  work  of  others,  particularly  to  the 
informing  discussion  in  Healy's  "The  Individual  Delin- 
quent." Suffice  it  for  our  purpose  to  state  that  consti- 
tutional inferiors  present  both  physical  and  mental 
peculiarities,  the  latter  of  which  cause  test  results  that 
are  quite  variable  and  that  require  differentiation  from 
special  defect.  Diagnosis  in  such  cases  can  only  be 
determined  in  the  light  of  all  the  facts  revealed  by  physical 
and  psychological  examination,  as  well  as  by  family  and 
developmental  history  and  the  story  of  the  social  career. 

The  clinical  psychologist  who  wishes  to  be  thorough 
and  to  diagnose  intelligently  must  acquaint  himself  with 
these  types.  The  same  may  be  said  in  regard  to  certain 
other  problems  which  can  be  understood  only  when 
much  information  besides  that  obtained  from  psychological 
examination  is  at  hand.  Thus,  there  are  special  defects 
which  are  due  to  brain  injuries  or  to  disease  of  certain 
portions  of  the  brain.  Aphasia,  alexia,  agraphia,  word- 
deafness,  and  other  such  disturbances  are,  as  defined  by 
neurologists,  always  due  to  brain  lesion  and  not  to  in- 
nate defect;  they  involve  loss  or  impairment  of  power 
that  once  existed. 

The  problems  of  so-called  congenital  alexia,  congenital 
word-blindness  and  word-deafness,  we  shall  consider  in 
detail  in  a  later  chapter.  Suffice  it  to  say  here  that  in 


DIFFERENTIAL  DIAGNOSIS  37 

any  case  it  requires  care  to  distinguish  between  word- 
blindness  and  word-deafness  due  to  cerebral  lesions  or 
defects,  and  symptoms  similar  in  character,  but  due  to 
grave  difficulties  with  sight  and  hearing  which  at  the 
time  of  examination  may  or  may  not  have  been  corrected 
and  which  earlier  were  a  severe  handicap.  (For  further 
discussion  of  these  points  see  Chapter  VI.) 

Certain  considerations  of  attitude  must  ever  be  kept 
in  mind  in  the  diagnosis  of  mentality,  because  they  have 
a  very  direct  bearing  upon  the  problem  of  differential 
diagnosis  of  special  defect.  Whatever  affects  attitude 
has  a  very  vital  relationship  to  all  mental  effort;  as 
most  important  should  be  mentioned  simulation  and 
emotional  disturbances.  The  attitude  with  which  an 
individual  approaches  a  task  is  a  great  factor  in  the 
results  accomplished;  fear,  embarrassment,  general  de- 
pression, indeed,  any  emotion,  may  lead  to  most  equivocal 
reactions.  Attitude  may  affect  tests  of  one  particular 
kind,  because  of  associations  which  they  arouse.  In 
some  cases  it  may  be  that  under  the  stress  of  emotion 
the  individual  is  unable  to  adjust  himself  to  novel  situa- 
tions, to  show  any  planfulness  or  initiative,  whereas  tasks 
that  require  mere  memory  or  which  can  be  readily  per- 
formed on  the  basis  of  long  established  reactions  or 
habits,  are  unaffected  by  the  stress  under  which  the 
individual  is  laboring.  Instances  of  this  kind  have  been 
reported  elsewhere  at  length.1 

In  all  psychological  examinations  one  must  rule  out 
the  factor  of  simulation  before  accepting  a  negative  re- 
sult at  its  face  value.  Because  of  some  special  considera- 
tion, the  individual  may  simulate  general  disability,  or 
he  may  feign  inability  to  perform  some  special  kind  of 
work,  in  accordance  with  some  plan  or  purpose  of  his 

1  Bronner,  Augusta  F.,  "Attitude  as  it  Affects  Performance  of  Tests.*' 
Psychological  Review,  July,  1916. 


38      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

own.  We  have  known  cases  in  institutions  where  the 
individual  did  not  wish  to  be  held  in  the  schoolroom, 
preferring,  possibly,  other  activities,  and  he  therefore 
pretended  to  be  unable  to  do  the  work  demanded  by 
the  school  teacher.  On  tests  one  sometimes  finds  an 
individual  who  shows  very  distinct  dislike  for  some  type 
of  work,  and  who,  because  of  his  simulation  of  disability, 
might  be  considered  an  instance  of  specialized  defect 
were  one  not  careful  in  the  analysis  of  results. 

In  distinguishing  between  general  defect  and  normality 
accompanied  by  special  defect,  there  are  several  points 
to  be  considered.  Before  concluding  that  an  individual 
is  a  defective,  that  is,  feeble-minded,  there  should  be 
several  kinds  of  evidence,  each  of  which  corroborates  the 
other.  Unfortunately,  the  practice  of  basing  the  diagnosis 
of  feeble-mindedness  merely  on  the  results  of  Binet  or 
other  "measuring  scales"  is  all  too  common.  Sometimes 
grave  errors  are  made,  particularly  when  the  subject  is 
handicapped  by  either  a  lack  of  adequate  knowledge  of 
English  or  by  a  special  defect  for  language.  The  proper 
emphasis  on  the  social  implications  of  feeble-mindedness  is 
a  help,  but  several  other  considerations  should  play  a  part. 

From  our  long  experience  we  are  convinced  that  for 
the  diagnosis  of  feeble-mindedness  there  should  be  given 
not  only  (a)  the  Binet  tests,  but  also  (6)  a  number  of 
performance  tests,  to  which  should  be  added  (c)  the  indi- 
vidual's reactions  to  ordinary  or  common-sense  situations, 
and  (d)  the  extent  to  which  he  has  profited  by  educa- 
tional opportunities.  When  these  four  types  of  tests 
are  used,  the  final  conclusions  reached  should  be  fair 
and  valid,  provided  the  tests  have  been  made  under 
favorable  conditions.  All  of  the  disturbing  factors  above 
enumerated,  of  course,  must  be  absent.  If  diagnosis  is 
based  on  less  evidence  than  is  here  set  forth,  there  is 
always  a  possibility,  among  other  things,  that  what 


DIFFERENTIAL   DIAGNOSIS  39 

is  designated  feeble-mindedness  may,  in  reality,  be  only 
special  defect. 

To  distinguish  between  the  normal  individual  with 
special  disability  and  the  defective  with  special  ability 
should  not  present  a  very  difficult  problem  in  the  light 
of  all  that  we  have  already  said.  When  failure  is  confined 
to  tests  which  involve  some  special  mental  process  or 
processes,  and  all  other  types  of  tests  are  done  well,  it  is 
more  than  likely  that  the  individual  is  normal,  but  with 
some  special  defect.  When,  on  the  other  hand,  tests 
involving  varied  mental  processes  are  performed  poorly, 
with  the  exception  of  a  group  which  depends  upon  some 
one  mental  process,  it  is  more  likely  that  the  individual 
is  a  defective  with  some  special  ability.  This  ability 
or  disability  may  involve  language,  memory,  motor  re- 
actions, or  any  other  mental  activity.  When  the  results 
on  various  tests  do  not  correlate  and  a  marked  discrepancy 
is  found,  it  becomes  necessary  to  evaluate  results  in  the 
light  of  all  the  considerations  we  have  discussed. 

It  will  readily  be  seen  that  the  problem  of  mental 
diagnosis  is  exceedingly  complex,  not  always  easy  of 
solution.  In  order  that  the  verdict  may  be  sane  and  fair 
and  present  a  prognosis  and  recommendations  that  are 
practically  valuable,  there  must  be  intensive  study  of 
each  individual  problem  case.  We  may  repeat  that  this 
necessitates  psychological  examination  so  complete  and 
the  use  of  tests  so  diversified  that  some  knowledge  may 
be  obtained  of  the  various  aspects  of  mental  life.  But 
this  psychological  examination  is  not  sufficient.  There 
must  be  included,  above  all,  the  developmental  history, 
which  often  illuminates  the  whole  problem,  the  physical 
conditions  at  the  time  of  examination,  the  educational 
opportunities  which  the  individual  has  had,  the  social 
background,  and  perhaps  the  facts  of  heredity.  It  is 
the  accuracy  and  the  completeness  of  all  these  data 
which  determine  the  value  of  the  final  diagnosis. 


CHAPTER  IV 

SOME  PRESENT  EDUCATIONAL  TENDENCIES 

IT  is  of  interest  to  review  briefly  the  main  trends  of 
present-day  tendencies  in  education,  to  discover,  if  we 
can,  to  what  extent  they  are  concerned  with  the  problems 
of  special  ability  and  special  defect.  There  is  at  present 
a  great  awakening  in  the  educational  world,  an  apprecia- 
tion of  the  fact  that  in  the  past  many  principles  have 
been  accepted  as  true  without  an  effort  being  made  to 
establish  them  on  scientific  bases.  Logical  deductions 
were  earlier  the  chief  justification  for  procedure;  then 
psychological  laws  became  the  criteria,  but  largely  with- 
out any  study  of  their  applicability  to  specific  situations, 
or  of  their  truth  and  value  under  definite  and  varying 
conditions. 

To-day  the  recognition  of  the  fallacies  to  which  this 
mode  of  thinking  lead  is  becoming  widespread.  In 
consequence,  questions  are  arising  concerning  the  aims 
of  education  and  the  methods  of  attaining  them.  Ex- 
perimentation is  being  undertaken  in  the  hope  of  learning 
how  desired  goals  may  be  best  achieved.  This  spirit  of 
inquiry  is  affecting  all  aspects  of  education  —  curricula, 
methods,  schemes  of  school  administration  —  and  is 
leading  to  studies  of  applied  psychology  dealing  with  the 
separate  mental  processes,  with  laws  of  learning,  and 
with  means  of  measuring  and  evaluating  actual  school 
results. 

40 


SOME   PRESENT  EDUCATIONAL  TENDENCIES        41 

In  general,  the  main  interests  so  far  have  centered  about 
the  formulation  and  application  of  general  principles. 
It  seems  fair  to  state  that  the  product  of  education  has 
been  considered  more  than  the  process,  the  group  more 
than  the  individual.  School  researches,  as  a  whole,  have 
dealt  very  little  with  attempts  at  analysis  of  the  under- 
lying and  conditioning  factors  of  the  learning  process. 
They  have  stressed  the  measurement  of  results  of  educa- 
tional practice,  but  not  the  reasons  for  success  or  failure. 
They  have  investigated  school  systems  as  a  whole,  but 
not  the  individuals  who  comprise  the  school  systems. 

While  nearly  all  studies  in  experimental  psychology 
prove  the  fact  of  individual  differences,  little  effort  has 
been  made  to  show  the  practical  correlations  in  adaptation 
of  method  and  subject  matter  that  must  naturally  follow 
in  order  to  meet  adequately  the  individual  differences 
which  exist.  But  since  one  salient  characteristic  of  the 
mental  life  is  individual  differences,  this  certainly  should 
affect  the  theory  of  education  on  the  one  hand  and  prac- 
tical procedure  on  the  other.  The  lack  of  experimenta- 
tion in  the  field  of  individual  needs  is  noteworthy;  it 
is  undoubtedly  on  account  of  this  that  the  problems  of 
individual  special  defect  or  of  unusual  ability  have  been 
largely  disregarded. 

Let  us  review  briefly  some  specific  examples  illustrating 
the  main  trends  of  educational  theory  and  practice, 
regarding  them  critically  in  relation  to  the  problem  of  the 
individual. 

The  aim  of  education  most  frequently  stressed  at  the 
present  time  is  perhaps  best  expressed  as  the  socialization 
of  the  individual.  Though  the  evolution  of  this  ideal 
cannot  here  be  presented,  nor  the  arguments  in  its  behalf, 
nor  the  consequences  to  which  it  has  led,  it  may  be  said 
that  even  so  broad  and  alluring  a  principle  has  taken 
little  account  of  the  practical  means  for  reaching  each 


42      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

individual  and  socializing  him.  The  fact  that  in  order 
to  attain  this  ideal  for  each  individual  the  means  must 
be  varied,  has  been  virtually  disregarded.  It  has  been 
implied,  if  not  specifically  stated,  that  the  same  scheme 
of  education,  the  same  studies  and  the  same  methods,  are 
equally  successful  for  all  children.  The  schools  founded 
on  this  philosophy  and  purporting  to  accomplish  this  end 
presumably  hope  to  achieve  it  by  adopting  the  same 
procedure  for  all.  So  splendid  and  inspiring  a  presen- 
tation as  that  made  in  Dewey's  recent  book l  gives  little 
heed  to  individual  variations  in  abilities,  at  least  as  a 
fundamental  aspect  of  human  life  that  must  form  one 
of  the  chief  principles  in  education.  Nor  do  schools  that 
stand  most  strongly  for  the  embodiment  of  this  view  of 
education  as  a  socializing  process  pay  much  more  heed 
to  individual  adjustments  than  schools  that  are  sup- 
posedly less  progressive  and  liberal. 

However  widely  such  a  general  end  as  the  socialization 
of  the  individual  may  be  applicable,  it  requires  adapta- 
tion of  method  to  individual  characteristics  for  its  ac- 
complishment. And  herein  lies  one  great  weakness,  it 
would  seem,  in  present-day  tendencies.  Method  is  one 
aspect  of  education  that  has  been  much  discussed ;  vol- 
umes have  been  written  on  both  general  method  and 
special  methods  pertaining  to  the  different  school  sub- 
jects, but  until  recently  there  has  been  little  attempt  to 
make  method  a  rational  outgrowth  of  psychological  find- 
ings. Freeman's  recent  book 2  purports  to  show  the 
application  of  psychological  laws  to  problems  of  instruc- 
tion, but  little  or  no  cognizance  is  taken  of  the  relation 
to  the  mental  make-up  of  the  individual. 

In  some  schools  of  education,  studies  are  now  being 

1  Dewey,  John,  "Democracy  and  Education",  1916. 

2  Freeman,  Frank  N.,  "The  Psychology  of  the  Common  Branches", 
1916. 


SOME   PRESENT  EDUCATIONAL  TENDENCIES        43 

carried  on  in  an  effort  to  establish  the  psychology  of  such 
studies  as  arithmetic,  spelling,  and  reading,  and  other  of 
the  usual  schoolroom  activities.  Here,  as  in  study  of  the 
more  elemental  psychological  processes,  experimentation 
must  gather  the  data  and  establish  the  general  laws. 

We  need  to  know  the  psychological  laws  related  to 
learning  in  the  different  school  subjects,  laws  which  apply 
to  the  majority  and  which  will  be  effective  with  the 
greater  portion  of  the  school  population.  We  are  just 
beginning  to  realize  the  intricacy  and  complexity  of  the 
mental  processes  that  are  brought  into  play  in  ordinary 
school  subjects  popularly  thought  to  be  simple.  But  it 
should  be  added  that  even  after  such  generalizations  are 
reached,  there  will  always  remain  the  problem  of  the 
individual  who  presents  special  conditions.  Individual 
differences  will  ever  be  extreme  enough  to  make  many 
exceptions  to  the  general  rule.  Some  children  will  always 
require  special  consideration  and  special  adaptation  of 
both  subject  matter  and  method.  The  ideal  of  teaching 
efficiently  individuals  with  special  defect  or  special  ability 
can  be  realized  only  after  we  are  able  to  analyze  the 
situations  they  present  and  to  direct  practical  efforts 
in  accordance  with  established  principles  of  learning  the 
various  subjects.  Study  of  individuals  and  knowledge 
of  method  should  have  a  reciprocal  relationship,  the  de- 
velopment of  each  aiding  the  progress  of  the  other. 

After  all,  the  practicability  of  an  end,  in  education  as 
elsewhere,  and  the  value  of  the  means  used  to  attain  the 
end  can  only  be  determined  by  the  results  achieved.  The 
evaluation  of  accomplishment  is  a  distinct  feature  of 
present  activities  in  educational  circles,  much  more  so 
than  at  any  period  in  the  past.  One  evidence  of  this  is 
seen  in  the  number  of  surveys  which  so  many  cities  have 
undertaken  for  the  purpose  of  determining  the  efficiency 
of  their  school  systems. 


44      PSYCHOLOGY   OF   ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

Another  proof  of  the  tendency  to  measure  educational 
product  is  evidenced  by  the  rapidity  with  which  objective 
scales  for  measuring  achievement  in  the  various  school 
subjects  have  been  evolved.  By  means  of  these  scales 
it  is  proposed  to  estimate  progress  from  tune  to  time 
and  to  compare  results  obtained  by  the  use  of  various 
methods  in  teaching.  In  scales,  as  in  school  surveys,  it 
is  product  that  is  being  studied  and  not  process.  Such 
methods  of  evaluation  are  a  very  practicable  help  since 
they  obviate  the  use  of  subjective  and  hence  very  un- 
reliable standards.  But  they  throw  no  light  whatsoever 
upon  the  reasons  for  success  or  failure,  nor  is  much  clue 
given  in  explanation  of  the  advantage  which  one  method 
or  one  system  has  over  another.  Measuring  scales  make 
it  possible  to  compare  an  individual's  ability  with  a  norm 
for  his  age,  or  with  the  achievement  of  any  other  individ- 
ual, and  to  gauge  his  own  progress  from  time  to  tune, 
but  they  do  not  touch  upon  the  mental  processes  in- 
volved in  any  activity.  They  are  concerned  with  com- 
plex achievements,  not  with  the  separate  aspects  of 
mental  life,  hence  they  are  of  little  use  in  the  study  of 
problem  cases. 

The  inadequacy  of  this  type  of  investigation  may  be 
illustrated  by  discussing  briefly  the  problems  of  retarda- 
tion and  elimination,  both  naturally  related  to  our  present 
subject.  We  may  judge  of  their  seriousness  and  practical 
import  by  the  number  of  published  studies  dealing  with 
these  topics.  Retardation  has  been  discussed  from  the 
standpoint  of  its  extent,  both  in  terms  of  the  percentage 
of  the  school  population  that  is  retarded  and  the  number 
of  years  of  retardation.  Very  little  study  has  been  made, 
however,  of  the  causes  of  retardation  or  the  characteristics 
of  retarded  individuals.  It  seems  strange,  indeed,  that 
no  one  has  endeavored  to  make  any  thorough  analysis  of 
this  problem  from  the  standpoint  of  causation,  an  analysis 


SOME   PRESENT  EDUCATIONAL  TENDENCIES        45 

that  would  seem  possible  on  the  basis  of  intensive  study 
of  an  unselected,  representative  group  of  retarded  children. 
In  studies  of  the  elimination  of  children  from  school, 
the  main  concern  has  been  to  determine  the  percentage 
of  those  who  withdraw  at  each  school  grade.  Van  Den- 
burg's  1  more  thorough  study  of  the  conditions  affecting 
elimination  in  the  public  high  schools  of  New  York  City 
covers  the  nationality  and  occupation  of  the  parents,  the 
educational  and  vocational  careers  of  older  brothers  and 
sisters,  the  economic  status  of  the  family,  the  pupils' 
valuation  of  a  high  school  education  and  the  occupations 
in  which  they  hoped  to  engage.  But  interesting  as  this 
study  is  and  valuable  as  is  the  information  it  gives  regard- 
ing the  force  of  certain  environmental  and  home  condi- 
tions, it  takes  little  account  of  the  influence  of  one  possibly 
very  important  factor,  namely,  lack  of  adjustment  of 
the  course  of  study  to  the  interest  and  capacity  of  the 
individual  student.  Van  Denburg  recognizes  this  as  one 
element,  though  he  offers  no  data  on  the  point.  In  the 
chapter  entitled  "New  Courses  and  New  Types  of 
Schools",  he  says,  "Among  the  many  conclusions  possible 
there  seems  at  least  one  conclusion  that  we  all  must  draw 
from  this  investigation  taken  as  a  whole,  namely  that  an 
extremely  large  percentage  of  the  population  enters  high 
school  unwilling  or  unable  to  benefit  properly  by  the 
instruction  which  is  offered  at  present.  .  .  .  To  permit 
the  pupils  to  drag  along  in  courses  for  which  they  have 
no  aptitude  and  in  which  they  are  visibly  receiving  little 
benefit  is  equally  unjust,  particularly  to  the  city  which 
provides,  at  so  great  an  expense,  costly  and  capable  in- 
struction." It  is  evident  that  this  is  equally  unjust 
to  the  pupils  who  are  spending  their  time  in  schools  whose 
function  avowedly  is  to  educate  them.  We  are  in  great 

1  Van  Denburg,  J.  K.,  "Causes  of  Elimination  of  Students  in  Public 
Secondary  Schools  of  New  York  City",  1911. 


46      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

need  of  duplication  of  this  type  of  investigation  in  regard 
to  elimination  in  the  lower  grades,  particularly  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  ability  of  the  child  as  correlated  with 
courses  that  are  offered. 

It  is  true  the  school  has  not  been  altogether  unaware  of 
this  failure  in  the  past  to  meet  the  needs  of  all  children, 
and  some  few  measures  have  been  undertaken,  both  as 
regards  administration  and  courses  of  study,  to  improve 
the  situation.  On  the  administrative  side  certain  ex- 
ceedingly interesting  innovations  are  being  tried  in  an 
effort  to  make  the  school  a  more  flexible  organization. 
The  inauguration  of  pre-vocational  schools,  the  organizing 
of  the  school  into  two  six-year  divisions  instead  of  an 
eight-year  grammar-school  course  followed  by  a  four-year 
high-school  course,  the  plan  of  one  continuous  twelve- 
year  course  —  all  these  are  examples  of  present-day  at- 
tempts tp  improve  school  administration  in  order  to  reach 
the  individual  more  effectively. 

Related  to  this  same  problem  of  adjustment  to  meet 
individual  ability  and  interest  is  the  present-day  tendency 
toward  establishing  more  and  more  elective  courses. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  this  newer  feature  of  our  schools 
is  partly  based  upon  the  recognition  of  the  principle  that 
all  children  are  not  equally  able  to  benefit  by  the  same 
training.  Granting  the  wisdom  of  this  differentiation  of 
courses,  there  still  remains  the  question  of  the  basis  on 
which  the  selection  is  to  be  made.  Is  present  selection 
of  courses  made  in  accordance  with  each  individual's 
ability  in  the  various  fields,  and  upon  whose  judgment 
does  the  selection  rest?  Too  frequently  considerations 
that  are  not  really  valid  enter  into  the  decision.  The 
child  himself  may  be  influenced  by  the  choice  of  friends, 
or  by  the  idea  that  one  course  is  easier  than  another,  or 
the  parents  may  make  the  decision  for  him  according  to 
some  preconceived  notion  of  what  constitutes  an  educa- 


SOME  PRESENT  EDUCATIONAL  TENDENCIES    47 

tion.  Too  little  consideration  is  given  to  the  adaptability 
of  the  child  for  the  courses  that  are  offered,  and  his  past 
successes  and  failures  are  frequently  not  regarded  as  es- 
sential in  the  choice. 

Then,  too,  this  liberal  attitude  is  found  only  in  high 
school  or  in  the  year  or  two  preceding  it.  Probably  the 
introduction  of  elective  courses  is  not  practicable  in  the 
lower  grades,  where  the  subject  matter  is  of  such  a  char- 
acter that  all  children  require  it,  but  even  there  recogni- 
tion of  the  principle  of  individual  needs  is  wise,  if  only 
for  the  adaptation  of  methods  of  teaching  in  special  cases. 

Concerning  courses  of  study  there  is  at  present  much 
discussion,  but  very  little  in  the  way  of  definite  conclusion. 
All  of  us  are  familiar  wyith  the  fact  that  new  subjects  are 
being  added  to  the  curriculum,  and  that  there  is  great 
difference  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  advisability  of  re- 
taining many  of  them.  On  the  one  hand,  we  find  those 
who  believe  that  we  still  should  continue  the  old  type  of 
education  which  stressed  the  three  R's  and  included 
some  subjects  unrelated  to  practical  life,  but  believed 
to  be  of  disciplinary  value.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are 
those  who  think  that  information  and  mental  discipline 
apart  from  the  activities  of  daily  life  do  not  accomplish 
the  desired  end.  They  say  real  education  consists  in 
developing  power  over  the  forces  of  social  life,  and  that 
all  selection  of  topics  and  methods  should  be  worked  out 
in  accordance  with  the  intrinsic  social  value  of  the  content. 

The  whole  problem  is  involved,  and  it  is  not  intended 
to  enter  into  the  controversy  except  as  it  applies  to  in- 
dividuals with  special  defects  or  with  special  abilities. 
In  these  cases  school  work  must  be  adapted  to  the  un- 
usual conditions  if  the  individual  is  to  be  educated.  The 
typical  school  and  vocational  failures  that  are  cited  afford 
proof  of  the  futility  of  any  other  point  of  view. 

Consideration  of  vocational  failures  leads  at  once  to 


48      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

another  group  of  problems  now  arousing  much  interest 
in  the  educational  world,  but  as  yet  far  from  solved.  The 
only  one  with  which  we  are  here  concerned  is  the  possi- 
bility of  vocational  guidance,  particularly  in  its  relation 
to  educational  diagnosis.  Some  of  those  who  are  closely 
identified  with  the  movement  for  vocational  guidance  are 
skeptical  of  the  help  that  psychological  study  of  the  in- 
dividual offers.  Our  own  feeling  on  the  subject  is  that, 
while  acknowledging  the  present  limitations,  one  must 
recognize  certain  very  definite  possibilities  of  diagnosis 
even  now,  as  well  as  the  considerable  hope  for  future 
development  in  this  field.  In  general,  it  should  be  said 
that  our  knowledge  of  the  mental  processes  required  in 
various  industries  is  very  scanty  and  uncertain;  until 
this  knowledge  is  increased  one  cannot  be  sure  of  the 
correlations  that  exist  between  what  is  tested  and 
industrial  efficiency.  Certainly,  at  the  present  time, 
subtle  distinctions  and  definite  statements  concerning 
correlations  can  rarely  be  made.  One  cannot  be  sure 
that  laboratory  results  would  obtain  if  experimentation 
were  made  under  the  conditions  of  the  workshop,  where 
a  number  of  other  factors  enter  into  the  situation.1 

Nevertheless,  within  wide  limits,  advice  in  regard  to 
vocations  may  be  safely  made  on  the  basis  of  results  of 
psychological  examinations.  No  one  doubts  for  an  in- 
stant that  special  disabilities  preclude  the  possibility  of 
success  in  certain  fields  of  industrial  endeavor.  The 
case-histories  given  later  illustrate  the  fact  that  some 
grave  errors  might  be  avoided  in  the  placing  of  boys  and 
girls  in  the  industrial  world. 

Though  one  trend  of  the  present  is  the  assumption  by 

1  A  recent  book  by  H.  L.  Hollingworth  ("Vocational  Psychology", 
1916)  summarizes  the  present  possibilities  in  this  field,  indicates  the 
general  methods  that  have  thus  far  been  employed  in  efforts  toward 
vocational  testing,  and  enumerates  some  of  the  tests  that  are  helpful 
for  this  purpose. 


SOME   PRESENT  EDUCATIONAL  TENDENCIES        49 

the  school  of  a  certain  amount  of  responsibility  for  ob- 
taining positions  for  boys  and  girls,  yet  little  cognizance 
is  taken  of  qualities  and  abilities  or  disabilities  that  later 
become  important  factors  in  vocational  success.  The 
irrationality  of  our  present  scheme,  which  takes  no  ac- 
count even  of  such  characterizations  of  prospective  em- 
ployes as  teachers  could  give  on  the  basis  of  their  knowl- 
edge of  children,  quite  apart  from  psychological  study, 
leads  to  great  waste.  One  great  hope  for  future  better 
vocational  adjustment  is  through  the  application  of  what 
can  be  learned  during  school  life  by  teachers  and  clinical 
psychologists  of  special  fitness  for  different  industrial 
occupations. 

Interpretation  of  all  the  movements  we  have  briefly 
reviewed  from  the  point  of  view  of  their  purpose,  strength- 
ens our  thesis  that  intensive  observation  of  individuals 
is  complementary  to  investigation  of  whole  groups. 
Through  individual  diagnosis  such  as  we  have  out- 
lined in  the  previous  chapters,  much  may  be  learned 
that  will  have  direct  application  to  changes  in  subjects 
to  be  taught  and  methods  to  be  used,  at  least  in  problem 
cases,  as  well  as  in  applying  to  vocational  guidance  what 
may  be  learned  through  studying  the  facts  of  individual 
differences. 


CHAPTER  V 

SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN  NUMBER  WORK 

NOT  long  ago  the  statement  was  made  by  Suzzallo  l 
that  "attempts  to  inquire  into  the  special  psychology  of 
the  arithmetical  processes  through  experimentation  and 
control  have  not  been  numerous  or  influential  on  current 
practice."  Indeed,  there  is  comparatively  little  litera- 
ture bearing  upon  any  questions  of  experimental  peda- 
gogy, Meumann's  recent  book  being  the  first  attempt  at 
any  thorough  or  complete  presentation  of  the  problems  2 
or  of  solutions  in  so  far  as  they  are  based  on  either  analy- 
sis or  experimentation.  A  few  thinkers  have  endeavored 
to  determine  the  psychological  processes  that  underlie 
number  work,  but  little  has  been  written  on  the  subject, 
compared  with  the  volumes  which  discuss  methods  and 
devices  fiom  a  logical  rather  than  from  a  psychological 
standpoint. 

As  long  ago  as  1897,  McLennan  and  Dewey,3  writing 
on  the  psychology  of  number,  devoted  considerable 
discussion  to  the  mental  processes  involved.  The  point 
of  view  presented  is  that  number  is  a  rational  concept, 
not  a  sense  fact,  that  it  has  its  basis  in  concrete  experi- 
ence, and  that  it  involves,  in  the  main,  the  psychological 
processes  of  discrimination  and  generalization,  under 

1  Suzzallo,  Henry,  "The  Teaching  of  Primary  Arithmetic  ",  1912. 

2  Meumann,  Ernst,  "Vorlesungen  zur  Einfiihrung  in  die  Experimen- 
telle  Padagogik  ",  1914. 

3  McLennan  and  Dewey,  "Psychology  of  Number  ",  1897. 

50 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN  NUMBER  WORK  51 

which  latter  head  are  included  abstraction  and  the  power 
of  grouping.  Discrimination  leads  the  child  to  a  recog- 
nition of  objects  as  units;  from  undefined  wholes  he 
advances  to  a  concept  of  separate  parts.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  learns  by  his  own  activity  to  combine  parts  into 
definite  wholes;  he  sees  separate  objects  as  a  group  or 
unity.  Thus,  it  is  by  the  power  of  abstraction  that  he 
comes  to  neglect  all  characteristic  qualities  of  an  object 
other  than  its  number.  When  he  gathers  like  units  into 
a  whole  he  has  advanced  to  the  second  step  in  general- 
ization, namely,  to  grouping.  Hence,  these  authors 
conclude  that  the  concept  of  number  cannot  be  taught  by 
the  mere  presentation  of  things,  but  only  by  such  a  presen- 
tation as  will  stimulate  discrimination  and  abstraction,  as 
previously  explained.  Or,  to  express  the  idea  somewhat 
differently,  we  might  say  that  these  writers  emphasize 
the  fact  that  there  may  be  clear  percepts  of  things  quite 
unaccompanied  by  definite  numerical  concepts.  The 
development  of  these  numerical  concepts  requires  the 
child  to  compare  and  relate,  to  discriminate  and  gen- 
eralize. 

Lanner,  in  his  article,  "Wie  Lernt  das  Kind  Zahlen  ?  "  l 
discusses  the  development  which  takes  place  from  the 
stage  at  which  the  child  uses  numerical  terms  as  names 
without  numerical  significance,  and  the  stage  at  which 
numerical  terms  express  a  real  concept  of  number.  The 
realization  of  this  difference  is  shown  by  Binet  when  he 
cautions  against  accepting  the  child's  ability  to  say 
numerals  serially  as  equivalent  to  the  power  to  count  the 
number  of  objects  in  a  group. 

The  most  thorough  discussion  of  the  whole  problem  is 
to  be  found  in  Meumann's  chapter  on  the  subject.  He, 
too,  feels  that  there  has  been  as  yet  no  adequate  analysis 

1  Lanner,  A.,  "  Wie  Lernt  das  Kind  Zahlen?  "  Zeitachrift  fUr  Philosophic 
und  Pddagogik,  1903. 


52        PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES   AND  DISABILITIES 

of  the  mental  processes  involved  and  that  the  study  of 
the  development  of  number  concept,  frequently  reached 
before  school  age,  has  hardly  been  undertaken.  He  states 
that  Pestalozzi  was  the  first  to  formulate  any  underlying 
principles  and  his  only  contribution  concerns  basing  the 
teaching  of  arithmetic  on  perception  of  objects,  after 
which  there  should  follow  a  study  of  the  grouping  of 
objects  and  of  their  relationship  to  each  other. 

Meumann  agrees  in  general  with  this  point  of  view,  but 
discusses  much  more  in  detail  the  psychology  of  the 
subject.  He  states  that  the  concept  of  number  develops 
late,  that  it  rests  upon  a  basis  of  counting  objects,  and 
from  this  experience  writh  the  concrete  there  gradually 
grows  an  understanding  of  abstract  number  relations, 
while  counting  itself  becomes  purely  mechanical.  The 
stage  of  development  of  number  concept  with  which 
children  enter  school  varies  greatly  and  depends  largely 
upon  environmental  opportunities.  Eckhardt's  experi- 
ments l  have  shown  this,  and  in  measuring  scales  for 
intelligence,  such  as  the  Binet-Simon  and  the  Terman- 
Childs,  tests  involving  numbers  are  placed  relatively 
late.  This  late  development  is  to  be  accounted  for  by 
the  fact  that  some  of  the  higher  mental  processes,  such 
as  abstraction,  analysis,  and  comprehension,  are  required. 
It  is  only  by  abstracting  from  the  concrete  background 
that  the  idea  of  number,  as  such,  is  evolved.  The  child 
analyzes  his  own  experience  and  ultimately  reaches  a 
comprehension  of  the  function  of  number. 

But  performance  in  elementary  arithmetic  involves  sev- 
eral other  main  factors.  The  mechanical  manipulation 
of  the  fundamental  steps  requires  memory  for  number 
and  the  formation  of  arbitrary  associations.  It  is  upon 
these  two  mental  processes  that  both  accuracy  and  speed 

1  Eckhardt,  K.,  "  Beobachtungen  fiber  das  Zahlenverstandnis  der 
Schulrekruten."  Zeitechrift  far  experimenteUe  P&dagogik,  8,  1909. 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN  NUMBER  WORK  53 

are  based ;  by  means  of  memory  definite  habits  of  reaction 
are  established  so  that  arithmetic  can  be  performed  with- 
out thinking  over  the  various  steps  in  a  problem. 

Nowhere  have  I  found  a  summary  such  as  the  follow- 
ing which  combines  the  partial  analyses  of  various  writers. 
(1)  The  concept  of  number  is  built  up  through  actual 
experience  in  handling  objects.  (2)  On  the  basis  of  this 
active  experience  there  is  evolved  a  comprehension  of  the 
function  of  number  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  numerical 
relationships  on  the  other.  (3)  To  succeed  in  the 
process  of  evolving  a  complete  concept  of  number,  the 
child  needs  to  analyze  and  compare,  to  discriminate, 
and  finally  to  abstract;  that  is,  there  must  be  ulti- 
mately a  transition  from  concrete  to  abstract.  (4)  Mem- 
ory processes  are  implicated  and  particularly  essen- 
tial in  the  mechanical  aspects  of  number  manipulation. 
(5)  Arbitrary  association  is  an  element  in  the  learning 
process. 

Concerning  the  role  played  by  other  subsidiary  mental 
functions,  there  is  considerable  disagreement,  for  example, 
regarding  the  relationship  of  the  various  types  of  imagery. 
Eckhardt 1  endeavored  to  find  by  experimentation  what 
significance  visual  elements  have  for  memory  for  num- 
bers and  for  the  performance  of  the  fundamental  oper- 
ations. His  conclusion  is  that  children  who  visualize  well 
use  this  type  of  imagery  in  their  arithmetic  work,  and  that 
it  is  a  great  help  to  them.  He  believes  that  these  children 
are  superior  both  in  memory  for  number  and  readiness  in 
counting.  He  urges  that  all  types  be  trained  to  use 
visual  imagery  in  number  work,  since  he  believes  it  to 
be  such  a  great  advantage.  Children  who  predomi- 
nantly visualize  may  be  somewhat  slower,  but  they  are 
far  more  accurate,  according  to  his  findings. 

1  Eckhardt,  K.,  "  Visuelle  Erinnerungsbilder  beim  Rechnen."  Zeit- 
schrift  fur  experimentelle  P&dagogik,  5:,  1907. 


64        PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

Lobsien,1  on  the  other  hand,  offers  proof  of  the  oppo- 
site. He  found  in  his  experimentation  a  fairly  high  cor- 
relation between  auditory  memory  and  facility  in  both 
written  and  oral  arithmetic,  whereas  there  was  an  in- 
verse relationship  between  visual  memory  and  written 
and  oral  arithmetic.  It  is  but  fair  to  add  that  there 
has  been  criticism  of  both  these  studies,  and  the  problem 
at  present  remains  largely  unsettled. 

It  can  readily  be  seen  that  in  certain  aspects  arith- 
metic depends  upon  other  functions.  Thus,  in  the  solv- 
ing of  arithmetical  problems,  reason  often  is  involved. 
The  place  of  reasoning  in  the  teaching  of  mechanical 
features  of  arithmetic  leads  us  to  a  further  problem.  It 
is  evident  that  in  learning  the  fundamental  processes 

—  addition,    subtraction,    multiplication,    and    division 

—  memory  alone  may  be  relied  on  very  largely,  and  no 
doubt  very  many  children  learn  number  combinations 
and  their  manipulations  on  the  basis  of  sheer  rote  mem- 
ory.   They  are  rarely  taught,  nor  do  they  perhaps  need 
to  know  the  rationalities,  for  example  of  the  decimal  sys- 
tem.   They  know  that  in  addition  of  two-place  numbers, 
one  adds  the  digits  of  the  right-hand  column  and  puts  in 
the  answer  the  unit  number  of  the  total  and  "carries" 
the  remainder  to  be  added  to  the  integers  of  the  left- 
hand  column.    The  "borrowing"  of  a  number  in  sub- 
traction is  learned  without  any  explanation  of  the  logic 
back  of  the  performance.    In  most  instances  the  child 
does  as  he  is  told  to  do  by  the  teacher,  and  through  prac- 
tice establishes  definite  habits  of  reaction  in  given  situa- 
tions. 

Suzzallo  has  discussed  at  length  the  principles  upon 
which  to  decide  whether  habituation  or  rationalization 
shall  be  stressed.  The  point  to  be  here  added  is  that, 

1  Lobsien,  M.,  "  Korrelation  zwischen  Zahlengedachtnis  und  Rechen- 
Zeitschrift  fur  Padagogische  Psychologic,  1911. 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN  NUMBER  WORK  55 

valid  as  his  generalizations  may  be  for  the  majority  of 
children,  there  are  instances  where  specialized  defects  of 
one  kind  or  another  may  require  that  other  than  ordinary 
procedures  be  adopted. 

If  now,  in  our  study  of  individual  problem  cases,  we 
find  a  child  who  is  greatly  retarded  in  number  work, 
who  seems  to  be  incapable  of  normal  advancement  in 
this  subject,  it  becomes  necessary  to  make  such  an  inten- 
sive investigation  by  means  of  psychological  tests  that 
we  shall  be  able,  if  possible,  to  determine  wherein  the 
difficulty  lies.  If  we  know  the  psychological  processes 
involved  in  the  learning  of  arithmetic,  we  ought  to  test 
these  various  mental  functions  in  the  individual  in  order 
to  find  which  are  normal  and  which  are  not.  Since  mem- 
ory for  number  and  the  ability  to  form  arbitrary  asso- 
ciations are  elements  in  the  learning  of  number  work  on 
the  mechanical  side,  we  must  find  whether  these  pro- 
cesses function  normally  in  each  individual  case.  Fur- 
thermore, the  more  fundamental  problems  must  likewise 
be  answered,  namely,  whether  the  child  has  any  concept 
of  number  and,  if  so,  whether  he  has  been  able  to  form 
those  abstractions  which  are  necessary  in  the  perform- 
ance of  the  usual  school  tasks.  Perhaps  he  is  able  to 
solve  problems  when  using  concrete  material  and  yet 
not  able  to  perform  correctly  abstract  work. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  may  be  that  the  methods  which 
are  ordinarily  successful  fail.  It  is  quite  conceivable 
that  whereas  habituation  may  be  usually  quite  ade- 
quate, rationalization  should  be  substituted  in  certain 
specific  cases  where  memory  powers  are  particularly 
faulty.  Herein  may  lie  the  explanation  of  a  fact  pointed 
out  by  Judd,1  that  in  the  same  school  system  some  chil- 
dren have  been  found  who  succeed  better  on  work  in 

1  Judd,  C.  H.,  "Survey  of  Cleveland  Schools."  "The  Cleveland 
Foundation",  1916. 


56        PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

arithmetic  of  the  advanced  grades  than  previously  in  the 
lower  grades.  That  this  cannot  be  due  to  general  poor 
teaching  is  proven,  since  it  is  not  a  feature  of  the  class  as 
a  whole,  but  only  of  certain  individuals. 

Before  concluding  that  failure  in  any  individual  is  due 
to  special  defect,  it  is  necessary,  of  course,  to  be  careful 
not  to  confuse  this  with  the  effects  of  poor  teaching. 
Sometimes  the  teaching  has  been  such  that  certain  fun- 
damental principles  have  not  been  thoroughly  estab- 
lished, and  the  child  may  do  much  of  the  work  correctly, 
but  have  trouble  with  some  one  step  in  the  processes.  He 
may  be  able  to  do  the  higher  work  and  yet  fail  in  some  of 
the  easier  steps.  For  example,  a  child  may  be  quite 
accurate  in  multiplication  and  addition  and  yet  not  per- 
form subtraction  correctly;  or  he  may  never  have  been 
taught  the  correct  use  of  the  zero,  so  that  wherever  this 
is  involved,  errors  are  made.  Of  course,  this  is  a  matter 
of  poor  and  inadequate  teaching  rather  than  any  difficulty 
with  the  child. 

A  number  of  cases  are  here  presented,  in  all  of  which 
there  is  one  common  feature,  namely,  the  individual 
proves  himself  normal,  except  for  special  disability  in 
number  work.  The  question  is  whether  the  mental  pro- 
cesses as  studied  by  psychological  tests  can  be  analyzed 
in  order  to  explain  the  defect  that  is  found. 

Case  7.  The  following  illustration  of  inability  in 
number  work  probably  rests  on  a  basis  of  an  exceeding 
defect  in  auditory  memory  for  numbers,  uncompen- 
sated  for  by  training  suited  to  special  characteristics. 

Willard  Z.,  15j  years  old,  was  studied  on  several  occa- 
sions and  at  considerable  length.  It  was  found  that  he 
did  many  things  very  well,  including  tests  of  such  diffi- 
culty as  to  prove  that  the  boy  was,  in  general,  quite 
capable.  In  marked  contradistinction  to  results  on 
other  tests  and  other  school  subjects,  we  found  that  he 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN   NUMBER  WORK  57 

was  an  absolute  failure  in  the  handling  of  numbers.  He 
failed  on  each  of  the  four  fundamental  processes;  he 
could  not  add  four  three-place  numbers  correctly,  nor 
could  he  subtract,  multiply,  or  divide.  Although  he 
had  learned  the  multiplication  table  by  rote,  yet  when 
he  tried  to  use  it  he  became  confused,  made  many  errors, 
and  did  not  succeed  in  getting  a  correct  answer  in  any 
of  a  number  of  examples  given. 

Even  more  amazing  was  the  fact  that  the  boy  could 
not  make  the  simplest  change,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he 
had  been  employed  for  months  and  consequently  had 
handled  money.  His  mother  told  us  that  she  could 
not  send  him  to  the  store  to  make  any  purchases  because 
he  did  not  know  if  the  correct  change  were  given  him. 
We  found  that  he  could  not  tell  how  much  money  would 
be  left  from  half  a  dollar  if  thirty-six  cents  were  spent, 
nor  the  change  left  from  a  dollar  after  eighty-seven 
cents  worth  of  goods  had  been  purchased,  When  the 
money  was  before  him  he  could  not  make  change; 
indeed,  in  this  last  problem,  he  told  us  that  twenty-seven 
cents  would  be  left,  but  even  this  he  could  not  actually 
count  out.  He  made  change  correctly  only  when  han- 
dling nickels  or  multiples  thereof.  In  an  effort  to  perform 
very  simple  problems  orally  he  became  altogether  con- 
fused. This  was  true  whether  reasoning  was  involved 
or  not.  He  tried  very  hard,  without  success,  to  find  the 
cost  of  two  thirds  of  a  dozen  oranges  when  a  dozen  cost 
twenty-four  cents;  he  could  not  tell  the  cost  of  eight 
articles  if  five  cost  a  quarter.  He  was  no  more  success- 
ful in  giving  the  answer  to  the  following,  How  much  is 
(7  +  8  +  3)  X  2?  He  added  change  totaling  $1.25 
correctly,  but  even  here  he  did  this  by  counting  by  nickels 
and  dimes. 

Construction  tests  were  done  extremely  well,  by  a 
thoroughly  rational  method  and  with  a  quick  perception 


58        PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES   AND   DISABILITIES 

of  relationships.  Tests  for  mental  representation  and 
analysis,  while  more  difficult  for  him,  were  accomplished 
successfully.  He  showed  on  tests  very  good  appercep- 
tions, normal  control  of  verbal  associations,  and  normal 
ability  to  form  new  associations.  He  followed  directions 
well.  Judged  by  the  Binet  scale  he  was  normal  in  abil- 
ity. None  of  the  tests  for  separate  mental  functions 
thus  far  enumerated  occasioned  him  any  difficulty ;  they 
were  performed  rapidly  and  readily. 

When  memory  powers  were  studied,  remarkable  find- 
ings were  obtained.  Rote  visual  memory  was  normal. 
He  accurately  reproduced  drawings  shown  him,  but  it 
was  a  different  story  when  auditory  powers  were  tested. 
To  our  great  amazement  we  found  that  the  boy  could 
remember  only  four  numerals,  and  although  tested  on 
different  occasions  and  given  a  great  many  trials,  he  never 
succeeded  in  repeating  five  numerals  presented  audi- 
torily. He  did,  on  the  other  hand,  repeat  seven  numerals 
given  visually.  As  for  logical  material,  he  gave  fifteen 
out  of  twenty  items  when  he  himself  read  a  passage,  and 
eight  out  of  twelve  items  when  the  passage  was  read  to 
him  —  results  that  are  better  in  comparison  than  those 
for  rote  memory.  Thus  we  see  that  while  visual  memory 
tests  presented  no  peculiarity,  the  achievement  on  the 
rote  auditory  tests  was  worse  than  that  expected  of  a 
normal  eight-year-old  child.  The  auditory  memory 
powers  of  many  low  grade  feeble-minded  are  far  better 
than  those  of  this  otherwise  capable  boy. 

He  read  fluently  and  with  good  expression.  He  was 
able  to  give  a  correct  reproduction  of  the  main  ideas  con- 
tained in  the  passage  read,  except  that  here  his  inability 
to  remember  numbers  was  again  evident.  He  reproduced 
correctly  the  substance  of  a  "help  wanted"  advertise- 
ment, except  for  the  numbers  given.  He  could  not 
remember  the  number  of  the  office  building  nor  the  num- 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS   IN  NUMBER  WORK  59 

her  of  the  room  where  the  applicant  should  apply.  He 
wrote  a  legible  hand  and  spelled  correctly  all  the  words 
given  him  in  a  fairly  difficult  dictation. 

The  boy  was  quite  conscious  of  his  own  defect  in  num- 
ber work  and  after  leaving  regular  school  and  beginning 
to  work  he  had  attended  night  school  hoping  to  gain 
there  some  knowledge  of  arithmetic.  He  had  gone  for 
three  weeks  and  then  stopped,  quite  discouraged.  He 
realized  that  all  his  school  career  had  been  hampered  by 
his  difficulty,  and,  indeed,  he  had  only  reached  fourth 
grade  in  spite  of  his  very  evident  capacity  for  acquiring 
knowledge  of  many  kinds. 

Except  in  the  light  of  his  successes  and  failures  on  psy- 
chological tests,  it  would  be  difficult  to  explain  his  in- 
ability to  learn  arithmetic  by  ordinary  methods.  One 
could  only  have  concluded  without  tests  that  he  has  a 
very  specialized  defect,  but  there  could  be  no  under- 
standing of  the  basis  for  it.  The  explanation  is  evident 
when  his  exceedingly  poor  auditory  memory  for  numbers 
is  discovered.  One  may  ask  whether  the  boy  had  any 
concept  of  number.  Certain  it  is  he  has  had  opportu- 
nity for  acquiring  this  if  only  through  his  experience  while 
working.  As  for  powers  of  discrimination  and  abstrac- 
tion, which  are  involved  in  the  transition  from  experience 
with  the  concrete  to  facility  with  abstract  number  com- 
binations, no  defect  for  these  is  found  on  tests.  If  they 
are  at  fault  and  are  factors  in  his  inability  to  perform 
arithmetic  work,  they  are  at  least  specialized  and  true 
only  in  this  one  field. 

It  is  impossible  to  state  definitely  whether  any  amount 
of  training  would  have  overcome  this  innate  lack ;  it  is 
certain  that  now,  at  his  age,  it  would  still  be  unprofitable 
to  endeavor  to  teach  him  by  the  usual  methods,  which 
have  already  proved  ineffectual  in  his  case,  since  his 
training  had  been  extended  over  more  than  eight  years. 


60         PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

The  only  recommendation  one  could  make  in  such  a  case 
is  that  the  boy  should  be  taught  by  a  method  adapted 
to  his  mental  peculiarities.  Since  he  has  such  poor 
auditory  memory,  one  could  hardly  rely  upon  mere  rote 
auditory  training  and  drill.  It  would  seem  wiser  to  use 
his  good  powers  of  reasoning  and  visualization  and  to 
teach  by  a  method  which  might  be  for  the  majority 
uneconomical  and  clumsy. 

The  social  implications  of  the  boy's  defect  are  difficult 
to  measure.  Willard  had  been  in  court  several  times  be- 
cause of  sex  delinquencies.  His  mind  seemed  fairly 
obsessed  by  bad  sex  ideas;  he  had  written  several  ob- 
scene letters.  His  actions  can  be  accounted  for  partly, 
at  least,  on  the  basis  of  sex  knowledge  learned  at  a  school 
to  which  he  had  been  sent  about  two  years  previously. 
Furthermore,  the  boy  was  in  the  midst  of  adolescence 
and  premature  in  sexual  development.  It  cannot  be 
definitely  stated  that  his  lack  of  ability  for  certain  mental 
tasks  had  any  direct  relation  to  his  misconduct,  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  is  a  fair  assumption  that  had  his  school 
progress  been  altogether  normal,  he  might  have  developed 
good  mental  interests  which  would  have  been  sufficiently 
strong  to  prevent  the  growth  of  delinquent  tendencies 
which  he  showed.  There  is  a  possibility  that  the  low 
grade  he  reached  in  school  and  the  discouragements 
resulting  therefrom  were  factors  in  his  career. 

We  learned  that  the  heredity  in  the  case  was  not  good. 
The  father  had  been  alcoholic  and  abusive,  had  deserted 
his  family  when  Willard  was  three  years  old.  The 
mother  had  later  obtained  a  divorce.  She  herself  appeared 
to  be  a  good  and  normal  woman.  The  developmental 
history  was  negative,  and  environmental  conditions  had 
been  fairly  satisfactory,  except  during  the  time  that  the 
toy  attended  the  school  mentioned  above. 

His  physical  development  was  normal  except  for  sex 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS   IN   NUMBER  WORK  61 

prematurity.  He  had  extremely  defective  vision,  partly 
corrected  by  glasses.  It  was  claimed  that  his  vision 
had  been  affected  by  an  accident  which  occurred  a  couple 
of  years  previously,  when  he  had  been  hit  in  the  temple 
by  a  rock.  There  was  a  small  scar  over  one  eye  and  some 
bone  involvement.  All  other  findings  on  the  physical 
side  were  negative. 

Case  8.  Next  is  given  an  illustration  of  defect  for  num- 
ber work  where  there  is  not  merely  poor  auditory  memory, 
but  this  is  combined  with  poor  powers  of  forming  asso- 
ciations with  symbolic  material. 

Alfred  T.,  16£  years  old,  was  found  on  mental  tests  to 
be  quite  irregular  in  his  abilities  and  disabilities.  In 
spite  of  good  educational  advantages,  the  results  on 
school  work  were  not  at  all  satisfactory,  and  particularly 
was  this  true  in  the  field  of  arithmetic.  He  read  only 
fairly  well,  making  errors  on  small  words,  showing  not 
so  much  a  disability  as  a  lack  of  facility ;  that  is,  he  was 
quite  inaccurate  and  careless  in  his  reading,  his  failures 
being  often  on  simple  words,  whereas  difficult  portions  of 
the  passage  wrere  read  correctly.  He  wrote  a  childish 
hand  and  made  some  errors  in  writing  from  dictation. 
However,  more  striking  was  the  fact  that,  although  he 
had  been  attending  business  college  for  the  purpose  of 
becoming  a  bookkeeper,  he  was  unable  to  add  correctly 
five  three-place  numerals.  He  worked  at  this  very 
painstakingly  and  slowly.  He  had  not  the  slightest 
conception  of  the  solution  of  problems  such  as  interest, 
though  at  the  tune  he  was  receiving  practice  in  this  at 
school.  He  very  frankly  said  that  he  could  not  remem- 
ber the  bookkeeping  work. 

He  did  tests  with  concrete  material  remarkably  well, 
attaining  excellent  records.  He  showed  not  only  quick 
perception,  but  good  reasoning  powers  in  such  work,  and 
proved  to  have  extremely  good  psychomotor  control  as 


62        PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

well.  On  the  other  hand,  his  work  with  abstract  material 
was  not  nearly  as  well  done.  He  made  a  very  poor  record 
on  the  so-called  learning  test,  where  the  association  of 
arbitrary  symbols  is  involved.  This  test,  readily  per- 
formed correctly  by  bright  eight-year-old  children,  was 
most  difficult  for  him,  and  the  result  was  far  below  nor- 
mal. His  control  of  verbal  associations  was  likewise 
not  good ;  he  made  a  very  poor  record  on  the  opposites 
test.  Concerning  powers  of  analysis,  the  results  were 
rather  irregular,  the  test-findings  differed  one  from  the  other. 
Memory  powers  seemed  to  be  unequal,  visual  memory 
being  better  than  auditory.  In  reproducing  a  passage 
presented  visually,  he  omitted  only  three  out  of  twenty 
items,  whereas  in  the  passage  presented  by  auditory 
means  he  omitted  four  out  of  twelve  items  and  altered 
other  details. 

His  social  reactions  corroborated  the  test  results  which 
indicated  his  special  abilities  and  defects.  Alfred  was 
the  youngest  of  four  children,  the  other  three  of  whom 
had  been  through  school  and  business  college  and  had 
been  successful  in  office  work.  The  parents  were  intelli- 
gent people  of  foreign  birth,  and  the  family  was  distinctly 
on  the  upgrade.  They  were  proud  of  the  success  of  their 
other  children  and  anxious  to  give  this  boy  an  equally 
good  education,  which  they  conceived  would  best  be 
acquired  through  training  in  a  business  college. 

Alfred  had  attended  public  school  for  eight  years, 
where  he  reached  the  seventh  grade ;  then,  at  fourteen, 
he  wished  to  go  to  work.  He  had  been  employed  at 
times,  but  had  attended  night  school  for  seven  months, 
after  which  he  was  sent  by  his  parents  to  a  business 
college  in  order  to  prepare  him  for  bookkeeping.  Just 
before  leaving  the  public  school  he  had  been  truant  for 
three  weeks.  This  was  the  beginning  of  his  misconduct. 
Later,  while  attending  business  college,  he  ran  away  from 


SPECIAL   DEFECTS   IN   NUMBER   WORK  63 

home  and  repeated  this  frequently  thereafter,  being  gone 
as  long  as  a  month  at  a  tune.  He  was  brought  into  court 
on  two  occasions  because  of  this  and  once  because  he 
stole  a  revolver,  the  only  known  instance  of  theft  on  his 
part. 

During  his  absences  from  home  he  made  his  own  way, 
frequently  by  selling  papers  and  once  by  working  at  a 
livery  stable.  His  employment  record  was  good;  he 
had  worked  at  one  place  for  seven  months,  but  had  given 
up  this  job  because  it  was  too  hard  for  him.  It  was  after 
this  that  the  family  sent  him  to  the  business  college  in 
hopes  of  "making  a  gentleman  of  him,  the  same  as  the 
others  in  the  family." 

He  was  a  big,  strong  boy,  well  developed  and  wrell 
nourished.  His  tonsils  were  greatly  enlarged,  and  there 
was  a  total  occlusion  of  one  side  of  the  nose  from  deflected 
septum.  Vision  was  somewhat  defective  in  one  eye,  but 
almost  normal  in  the  other.  There  was  a  constant  fine 
tremor  of  outstretched  hands  and  biting  of  the  finger 
nails,  indicating  some  nervousness. 

His  delinquencies,  that  is,  his  truancy  and  running 
away,  were  due,  no  doubt,  to  several  causes.  They  had 
begun  while  his  mother  was  away  on  a  visit  to  her  parents, 
and  oversight  at  home  consequently  was  slackened.  He 
had  associated  with  bad  companions  who  had  led  him 
to  run  away,  but  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  first 
escapade  of  this  sort  was  during  the  time  he  was  attend- 
ing the  business  college.  Then,  too,  there  was  probably 
some  irritation  because  of  his  physical  troubles,  partic- 
ularly his  defective  vision,  which  may  have  interfered 
with  his  school  work.  Also,  he  was  an  unstable  adoles- 
cent. 

Nevertheless,  there  is  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  one 
important  factor  in  explaining  the  boy's  misconduct  was 
the  unsuitable  vocation  for  which  he  was  being  trained. 


64        PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

He  had  not  the  slightest  interest  in  bookkeeping  and  he 
was  not  fitted  for  the  work.  His  people,  well  intentioned, 
did  not  appreciate  the  true  situation ;  they  only  felt  that 
they  were  offering  the  best  means  to  success  such  as  his 
brothers  and  sisters  had  achieved.  That  the  boy  liked 
best  driving  and  working  with  horses  and  that  he  had 
been  able  to  take  care  of  himself  by  working  in  these 
ways  when  he  was  away  from  home,  did  not  mean  any- 
thing to  them,  whereas  it  can  readily  be  seen  that  even 
the  association  with  bad  companions  might  have  been 
explained  through  the  lack  of  interest  the  boy  felt  in  his 
forced  occupation.  Had  he  been  busily  engaged  in  pur- 
suits which  held  his  interest  he  might  never  have  sought 
such  companionship  or  have  been  so  ready  to  follow  sug- 
gestions made. 

The  proof  that  these  points  were  vital  matters  for  his 
whole  career  is  shown  by  the  fact  that,  acting  upon  ad- 
vice given  in  the  light  of  psychological  findings,  the  boy 
was  placed  at  farm  work,  and  now,  five  years  after  he 
was  first  seen,  we  hear  that  he  is  still  in  the  country  and 
doing  very  well.  He  has  worked  satisfactorily,  is  earn- 
ing good  wages,  was  long  ago  released  from  court  super- 
vision, and  is  apparently  happy  with  his  station  in  life. 
His  family  have  recognized  the  facts  in  the  case  and  are 
themselves  quite  reconciled  to  his  career  as  a  farmer. 

Certainly  the  study  of  this  boy  was  well  worth  while, 
and  the  practical  results  based  upon  the  findings  of  this 
study  are  conclusive  evidence  of  the  social  importance 
involved  in  the  recognition  of  special  abilities  and  dis- 
abilities. The  educational  applications  cannot  be  so 
definitely  stated,  because  when  seen  the  boy  was  too 
old  to  make  it  practicable  to  give  him  any  individual 
training.  Had  he  been  considerably  younger  one  might 
have  suggested  definite  methods  whereby  he  would  have 
improved,  perhaps,  in  certain  directions.  Knowing  that 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN  NUMBER  WORK  65 

he  was  particularly  poor  in  dealing  with  abstractions  and 
likewise  somewhat  below  par  in  auditory  memory  powers, 
arithmetic  might  have  been  approached  from  the  concrete 
aspects  and  with  emphasis  on  visual  memory  as  a  means 
of  control. 

In  any  case,  the  school  had  not  met  his  needs  ade- 
quately. Had  the  special  defect  been  so  excessive  that 
the  boy  could  not  be  taught  arithmetic  even  by  adapted 
methods,  the  school  should  have  been  aware  of  the  ne- 
cessity for  so  guiding  the  boy  vocationally  that  he  might 
have  avoided  sure  failure.  The  school  authorities  should 
have  been  able  to  give  to  the  parents  the  advice  which 
was  offered  at  the  time  of  our  study. 

Case  9.  In  this  case  is  illustrated  the  fact  that  with 
normal  ability  to  form  arbitrary  associations  and  with 
no  defect  in  memory  for  numbers,  there  still  may  be 
failure  in  arithmetic  because  the  concept  of  number  is 
lacking. 

Mary  L.,  11  years  old,  appeared  at  first  as  extremely 
bright.  She  was  such  an  alert,  active  girl,  she  talked  so 
well  and  interestingly  about  many  things,  that  she  made 
a  most  favorable  impression.  On  a  wide  range  of  tests 
for  determining  mental  ability  Mary  did  very  well.  She 
did  construction  tests  in  a  rational  manner ;  she  showed 
good  apperceptive  ability;  she  had  no  difficulty  in  asso- 
ciating arbitrary  symbols  and  learned  them  with  ease. 
On  the  Binet  scale  she  graded  to  age,  but  even  more 
interesting  was  the  fact  that  on  the  common-sense  tests 
included  in  that  scale  she  did  exceedingly  well.  She 
showed  much  shrewdness  and  good  judgment  for  a  girl 
of  her  age ;  her  sense  of  humor  was  keen,  she  very  quickly 
perceived  the  absurd  situations  in  the  so-called  incon- 
gruities test ;  her  answers  were  always  relevant  and  well 
expressed.  Her  memory  powers  for  rote  material  were 
just  about  normal  for  her  age,  neither  exceptionally  good 


66        PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

nor  exceptionally  poor.  She  had  much  difficulty  with 
tests  involving  mental  representation  when  the  task  was 
at  all  difficult. 

In  regard  to  her  school  work,  she  had  learned  to  read 
fluently;  she  wrote  a  fairly  good  hand  and  had  no  dif- 
ficulty whatever  with  spelling.  Her  school  retardation 
—  for  she  was  only  in  the  second  grade  —  might  have 
been  due,  in  part,  to  early  poor  opportunities,  as  we  shall 
see  later,  but  her  exceeding  defect  in  number  work  would 
be  enough  to  account  for  it.  She  had  received  private 
instruction  during  the  vacation.  In  spite  of  this,  now, 
when  eleven  years  old,  she  could  do  none  of  the  funda- 
mental processes  except  addition,  and  even  this  was 
done  very  slowly.  She  could  not  succeed  with  so  simple 
a  sum  as  subtracting  eighteen  from  twenty-five ;  it  made 
no  difference  whether  this  was  given  her  orally,  as  a 
written  problem,  or  with  actual  money.  She  said  that 
"taking  seven  from  seven  leaves  seven."  It  was  evi- 
dent that  the  common  sense  which  she  used  in  other 
situations  had  never  been  called  into  play  in  number 
work,  otherwise  she  would  surely  not  have  made  so  stupid 
a  remark.  While  she  had  learned  a  few  of  the  number 
combinations  orally,  she  very  readily  became  confused. 
From  the  comments  which  she  frequently  made,  it  was 
apparent  that  numbers  and  words  relating  to  them  were 
meaningless  to  her. 

Our  examination  of  this  little  girl  showed  that  she  had 
not  the  slightest  concept  of  number.  She  was  utterly 
unable  to  master  the  work  of  her  class,  because  she  had 
not  the  ability  to  grasp  what  was  being  done.  Whether 
she  could  have  made  normal  progress  had  the  concept  of 
number  been  developed  first  through  dealing  with  num- 
ber relationships  in  concrete  material,  we  have  no  way  of 
knowing,  but  we  feel  sure  that  without  this,  the  girl 
would  become  more  and  more  confused  by  ordinary  class- 


SPECIAL   DEFECTS  IN   NUMBER  WORK  67 

room  procedure  in  this  subject.  It  may  be  that  this 
lack  of  concept  of  number  was  due  somewhat  to  poor 
powers  of  mental  representation,  for  no  doubt  this  con- 
cept is  developed  through  mentally  representing  to  one- 
self relationships  which  constitute  number.  But  Mary's 
native  common  sense  and  good  general  intelligence  make 
it  very  probable  that  with  individual  help  of  the  right 
kind  she  could  be  given  the  proper  start  and  that  her 
progress  thereafter  would  be  rapid. 

When  we  become  acquainted  with  this  little  girl  she  had 
been  adopted  by  some  kindly  people  who  had  taken  her 
from  her  own  poor  home,  and  we  were  never  able  to  ob- 
tain a  reliable  account  of  either  heredity  or  early  envi- 
ronmental conditions.  We  know  that  when  quite 
young  she  lived  for  a  time  in  an  institution.  It  may  be 
that  early  she  had  poor  educational  opportunities,  but 
for  nearly  two  years,  at  least,  she  has  had  exceedingly 
good  home  conditions  and  splendid  chances  for  education. 
Physically  she  was  in  excellent  condition,  except  for  slight 
strabismus  corrected  by  glasses.  She  was  strong  and  well 
developed. 

Mary  was  easily  able  to  do  much  higher  work  in  other 
school  studies  and  in  consequence  she  was  wasting  much 
of  her  time  in  school.  The  feeling  of  incompetence  and 
discouragement  which  would  naturally  be  aroused  in  her 
through  failure  and  by  being  thrown  with  children  so  much 
younger  than  herself  was  likely  to  be  most  injurious.  The 
injustice  of  the  situation  is  manifest. 

Case  10.  This  case  illustrates  the  point  that  if  the 
concept  of  number  is  not  developed  early,  the  failure  in 
arithmetic  continues  in  spite  of  ordinary  drill  and  train- 
ing for  a  number  of  years. 

John  T.,  14  years  and  10  months  of  age,  was  brought 
for  examination  because  of  his  lack  of  progress  in  school. 
The  mental  examination  soon  showed  that  the  source 


68        PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

of  the  trouble  lay  in  a  defect  for  number  work.  How 
to  explain  this  defect  was  a  more  difficult  matter.  He 
could  not  add  four  three-place  numbers;  he  could  not 
subtract,  multiply,  or  divide,  nor  could  he  answer  the 
simplest  problems  given  him  orally.  He  said  that  eight 
apples  and  five  apples  together  made  fifteen.  He  knew 
the  date  and  his  age,  but  could  not  tell  the  year  in  which 
he  was  born.  With  a  square  box  in  his  hand,  after  he 
was  told  one  side  was  two  inches  long,  he  could  not  tell 
the  total  number  of  niches  on  the  four  sides.  With  actual 
money  before  him  he  could  not  make  change.  He  failed 
to  add  simple  amounts  correctly ;  he  knew  that  two  dimes 
made  twenty  cents  and  two  nickels  ten  cents,  but  when 
pennies  were  added  to  this  his  answers  were  ludicrously 
incorrect.  Simple  problems  involving  reason  were  be- 
yond him,  although  his  reasoning  powers,  as  shown  on 
other  tests,  were  very  good. 

There  was  a  great  discrepancy  between  results  on  tests 
for  arithmetical  ability  and  all  other  performances. 
Problems  with  concrete  material  were  solved  very  well 
indeed.  There  was  quick  perception  of  the  relationships 
involved,  and  rational  methods  were  used  in  the  solu- 
tions. General  powers  of  apperception  were  quite  nor- 
mal, and  this  was  true  of  memory  processes  and  powers 
of  representation.  The  rote  memory  tests  were  done 
very  well;  there  was  no  difficulty  with  memory  for 
numbers ;  the  boy  could  restate  correctly  problems  which 
he  could  not  answer.  He  had  learned  in  rote  fashion 
the  multiplication  tables.  His  general  intelligence,  as 
gauged  by  Binet  tests,  was  normal  for  his  age.  Read- 
ing, writing,  and  spelling  were  all  performed  satisfac- 
torily. 

That  the  concept  of  number  was  so  entirely  lacking 
could  be  explained,  no  doubt,  only  on  the  basis  of  some 
innate  defect.  The  mother  told  us  that  she  herself  had 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN   NUMBER  WORK  69 

attempted  to  teach  the  boy  numbers  when  he  was  quite 
small,  even  before  he  was  sent  to  school,  but  in  regard  to 
arithmetic  "  it  was  as  if  he  were  color  blind."  She  could 
not  send  him  to  make  purchases  because  he  never  knew 
if  he  had  the  correct  change.  His  teachers  had  recog- 
nized his  inability  in  this  school  subject,  but  no  one  had 
been  able  to  help  him.  Just  what  methods  of  help  had 
been  employed  we  did  not  learn. 

From  the  very  intelligent,  reliable  mother  we  were 
able  to  obtain  a  thorough  account  of  heredity  and  devel- 
opmental history,  both  of  which  were  altogether  nega- 
tive. The  physical  examination,  made  with  care,  re- 
vealed no  sensory  or  other  troubles. 

It  was  quite  apparent  that  the  boy's  disability  had 
been  a  great  influence  in  his  school  career.  He  had  only 
reached  the  fifth  grade  when  we  saw  him,  whereas  a 
sister,  who  began  school  at  the  same  time  as  he,  was  al- 
ready in  the  high  school.  Very  fortunately,  the  boy  was 
not  sensitive  in  regard  to  his  difficulty  and  his  school 
retardation,  and  there  was  no  complaint  in  regard  to 
his  behavior,  except  that  he  was  exceedingly  troublesome 
in  the  classroom.  Just  recently  he  had  become  a  truant. 
Considering  his  handicap  and  that  he  was  frequently 
forced  to  repeat  his  grade  and  was,  in  consequence,  thrown 
constantly  with  younger  children,  it  was  surprising  that 
he  had  not  become  more  of  a  problem  from  the  stand- 
point of  his  conduct. 

Case  11.  Sometimes,  as  in  the  following  case,  the 
difficulty  is  not  easy  to  explain, -for  we  may  find  almost 
all  of  the  psychological  processes  which  underlie  number 
work  quite  normal.  Here  memory  for  numbers  and 
powers  of  arbitrary  association  are  not  defective,  nor  is 
there  any  lack  of  ability  to  form  mental  representations. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  step  from  the  concrete  to  the 
abstract  seems  never  to  have  been  well  established. 


70        PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

Henry  M.,  11  years  old,  was  found  exceedingly  incapa- 
ble in  number  work.  In  spite  of  his  exceptionally  good 
educational  opportunities  —  good  at  least  as  ordinarily 
judged  —  he  was  unable  to  perform  correctly  any  of  the 
fundamental  processes;  he  could  not  add,  subtract, 
multiply,  or  divide.  He  had  only  slight  knowledge  of 
the  multiplication  tables,  and  he  could  not  carry  out  the 
process  of  multiplication  in  even  fairly  simple  prob- 
lems. He  failed  to  solve  such  easy  oral  examples  as,  if 
six  cost  twenty-four  cents  what  will  eight  cost?  It  was 
quite  evident  that  the  boy  had  gained  practically  nothing 
from  all  his  school  training  in  number  work.  Other 
school  subjects  were  done  satisfactorily;  he  wrote  a 
rapid,  legible  hand,  misspelling  words  only  occasionally. 
He  read  fluently  and  intelligently,  and  his  reading  had 
covered  a  wide  range  for  a  boy  of  his  years. 

We  found  he  solved  performance  tests  readily,  making 
a  remarkably  good  record  both  for  speed  and  for  accu- 
racy. His  records  on  construction  tests  are  among  the 
best  ever  made  in  our  laboratory,  even  on  those  adapted 
for  subjects  much  older  than  he.  They  prove  that  the 
boy  has  unusually  good  ability  in  the  perception  of  rela- 
tionships of  form,  in  reasoning  with  concrete  material, 
and  in  following  directions  with  actual  material  when 
several  steps  are  required.  Nor  was  any  difficulty  shown 
on  the  so-called  learning  test,  where  the  associations  of 
arbitrary  symbols  were  formed  with  ease.  Memory 
power  for  both  rote  and  logical  material  was  normal  for 
his  age.  Apperception  was  quite  normal,  and  tests  for 
analysis  and  mental  representation  were  likewise  well 
done.  Indeed,  there  was  conclusive  proof  that  the  boy 
had  very  good  native  ability  in  many  directions. 

Since  this  boy  was  first  seen  some  four  years  ago,  we 
have  had  corroboration  of  his  abilities  and  disabilities 
through  frequent  school  reports.  In  several  schools 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS   IN   NUMBER   WORK  71 

which  he  has  attended  his  records  in  industrial  work 
have  been  exceptionally  good,  the  grade  in  one  school 
having  been  100.  In  arithmetic  his  standing  has  been 
consistently  low.  The  last  report  stated  that  his  mathe- 
matical sense  is  far  below  par,  although  he  has  been 
able  to  master  a  few  of  the  mechanics  of  arithmetic.  In 
informational  subjects  the  boy  has  always  shown  a  keen 
interest,  and  his  knowledge  of  geography,  history,  and 
literature  is  beyond  his  school  grade. 

The  results  of  our  mental  tests  led  us  to  believe  that 
the  explanation  of  his  extreme  incapacity  for  handling 
numbers  rests  upon  poor  powers  of  dealing  with  arith- 
metical abstractions.  Certainly,  in  concrete  fields  this 
boy  shows  extremely  good  ability.  That  his  memory 
powers  are  normal  is  indicated  not  only  by  the  psycho- 
logical tests  for  these  mental  processes,  but  likewise  by 
the  fact  that  he  has  been  able  to  acquire  such  a  good  fund 
of  information.  On  the  other  hand,  numerical  relation- 
ships which  involve  powers  of  abstraction  and  appreci- 
ation of  relationships  of  a  very  abstract  nature,  are  alto- 
gether wanting.  Although  the  defect  is  surprising,  con- 
sidering the  boy's  other  innate  abilities,  the  fact  that  it 
exists  is  obvious  enough.  We  can  only  conclude  that 
there  is  a  special  defect  which  makes  it  difficult  for  him 
to  develop  a  concept  of  number. 

That  this  particular  disability  has  been  of  great  sig- 
nificance in  his  school  career  and  has  led  to  much  irrita- 
tion throughout  his  entire  school  life,  goes  without  say- 
ing. The  boy  had  been  lowered  repeatedly  in  his  school 
grade  and  had  come  to  regard  himself  as  a  school  failure. 
After  the  case  was  studied  it  still  remained  practically 
impossible  to  obtain  the  training  suited  to  his  needs. 
In  the  private  schools  to  which  he  has  been  subsequently 
sent  no  teacher  evidently  has  appreciated  the  problem  or 
understood  the  psychological  aspects  of  the  situation. 


72        PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

No  special  adaptation  of  method,  such  as  is  really  re- 
quired, has  ever  been  attempted.  In  spite  of  the  fact 
that  this  boy  has  attended  school  where  industrial 
courses  are  given,  we  doubt  whether  the  work  in  arith- 
metic has  actually  been  based  upon  these  courses.  In 
consequence,  the  step  from  the  concrete  to  the  abstract 
has  never  been  bridged,  and  the  understanding  of  num- 
ber relationships  in  the  light  of  their  use  in  solving  real 
problems  has  never  been  evolved. 

In  this  particular  instance  no  other  explanation  of 
school  retardation  was  found.  The  boy  was  in  excellent 
physical  condition,  the  parents  cooperated  with  the  school 
and  evinced  in  every  possible  way  their  desire  for  the  boy 
to  advance  normally. 

To  show  that  an  ordinary  amount  of  testing,  such  as  is 
frequently  given  merely  to  differentiate  mental  normal- 
ity from  feeble-mindedness,  is  inadequate  to  determine 
the  underlying  processes  upon  which  arithmetical  defect 
rests,  the  following  cases  are  offered.  In  both,  the  prob- 
lems as  presented  to  us  were  not  educational  or  even 
vocational. 

Case  12.  Lillian  M.,  15  years  old,  showed  very  good 
ability  in  many  things,  and  yet  she  was  utterly  unable 
to  solve  very  simple  problems  in  arithmetic.  In  all 
motor  tests  given  her  she  made  records  that  were  practi- 
cally as  good  as  is  obtainable.  She  did  well  on  tests  which 
required  analysis  and  mental  representation.  She  showed 
good  powers  of  mental  control  and  normal  apperceptions. 
In  school  work  her  record  was  normal,  except  for  arith- 
metic. She  could  add  correctly,  though  this  wras  done 
slowly,  but  all  other  number  work  was  a  failure.  She 
made  errors  in  subtraction,  could  not  multiply  or  do  simple 
examples  in  long  division.  In  her  case  it  seemed  clear 
that  the  girl  had  been  promoted  in  school  in  spite  of  her 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN  NUMBER  WORK  73 

inability  to  do  the  arithmetic  work  of  her  grades,  but 
she  was  quite  retarded,  having  only  completed  the  fifth 
grade  when  she  withdrew  at  fourteen  years. 

In  this  case  it  was  impracticable  for  the  girl  to  receive 
any  further  training,  and  since  her  problem  required 
only  a  verdict  regarding  normality,  no  other  tests  were 
given.  From  such  findings  we  get  little  aid  in  discovering 
the  basis  for  failure  to  master  arithmetic.  We  are  quite 
sure  that  there  is  a  defect,  but  which  of  the  underlying 
processes  might  explain  it  we  do  not  know. 

Case  13.  Arthur  L.,  17  years  old,  showed  on  mental 
examination  his  inability  to  grasp  number  work.  At 
seventeen  he  was  only  in  the  sixth  grade,  no  doubt  be- 
cause of  his  special  defect  for  numbers,  for  he  was  able 
to  do  other  types  of  school  work  satisfactorily.  Writing 
and  spelling  were  done  well,  and  he  read  a  fairly  difficult 
passage  fluently,  giving  an  accurate  reproduction  of  the 
contents.  That  he  was  normal  except  in  arithmetic  was 
shown  by  the  fact  that  he  passed  the  12-year  Binet  tests 
readily  and  showed  normal  powers  of  analysis  and  repre- 
sentation, normal  powers  in  dealing  with  concrete  ma- 
terial, and  normal  control  of  verbal  associations. 

In  arithmetic,  he  failed  in  long  division,  making  errors 
in  multiplication  and  hi  subtraction;  indeed,  he  showed 
no  comprehension  of  any  of  the  principles  involved  in 
number  work.  Even  worse  were  the  results  on  oral 
problems.  He  could  not  subtract  $1.57  from  $2.00,  nor 
solve  so  simple  a  problem  as  the  following:  At  thirty- 
six  cents  a  dozen  how  much  would  five  oranges  cost? 
In  the  test  for  continuous  subtraction  he  made  many 
errors. 

The  point  to  be  here  emphasized  is  that  routine  and 
hurried  testing,  such  as  is  frequently  the  custom  even  in 
connection  with  school  laboratories,  is  insufficient  for  a 
rational  understanding  of  these  problem  cases.  Binet 


74        PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

tests  reveal  nothing  helpful  in  regard  to  the  special  defect, 
often  not  even  indicating  that  it  exists.  To  make  the 
individual  adjustments,  which  alone  meet  the  situation 
adequately,  much  more  intensive  study  is  required,  as 
indicated  in  the  earlier  cases  cited. 


CHAPTER  VI 

SPECIAL  DEFECTS  EN  LANGUAGE  ABILITY 

FROM  a  practical  standpoint  it  is  found  that  the  differ- 
ent aspects  of  language  ability  do  not  present  a  psycho- 
logical unity.  We  know  that  defects  in  one  or  several 
aspects  may  exist  without  involving  other  phases.  As 
a  simple  illustration  of  this,  may  be  mentioned  the  fact 
that  we  frequently  have  studied  individuals  who  have 
great  difficulty  in  mastering  reading,  but  who,  neverthe- 
less, speak  well  and  seem  to  have  no  difficulty  in  the  use 
of  language  as  a  medium  of  self-expression.  This  anomaly 
is  very  clearly  shown  in  cases  of  feeble-minded  verbalists, 
who,  while  unable  to  learn  to  read  one  language  even 
fairly  well,  are  able  to  converse  in  several.  Then,  too, 
we  have  known  some  who,  while  able  to  read  quite  well, 
have  much  difficulty  in  clear  expression  of  their  own  ideas 
and  little  feeling  for  good  use  of  language.  Then  there 
are  those  who  are  able  to  read  fluently,  but  who  cannot 
reproduce  the  ideas  contained  in  the  passage  read.  If 
all  this  is  true,  there  must  be  distinct  differences  in  the 
mental  processes  underlying  language  in  its  various  as- 
pects. 

In  discussing  the  topic  of  language,  its  teaching  and 
the  psychological  principles  involved,  Meumann  main- 
tains that  the  whole  field,  from  reading  to  the  learning  of 
foreign  languages,  is  a  unit  psychologically  considered, 
and  that  it  must  therefore  be  regarded  as  such  pedagogi- 

75 


76         PSYCHOLOGY   OF   ABILITIES   AND^  DISABILITIES 

cally.  He  includes  the  teaching  of  language,  both  native 
and  foreign;  reading,  the  interpretation  of  symbols; 
writing,  the  expression  of  ideas  through  the  written  word ; 
and  even  drawing  as  a  graphic  representation  of  thought. 
Now,  it  seems  clear  to  us  that  if  these  form  a  unity,  there 
must  be  psychological  processes  common  to  all  of  them. 
Unfortunately,  in  spite  of  lengthy  discussion  of  these 
different  phases  of  language  ability,  Meumann  does  not 
tell  us  anywhere  what  the  common  elements  actually  are. 
In  our  own  presentation  of  defects  in  language  ability, 
we  find  the  necessity  for  treating  the  various  problems 
separately. 

READING 

In  regard  to  the  psychology  of  reading,  it  may  be  noted 
that  much  experimental  work  has  been  done  on  the  part 
played  by  the  eye,  that  is,  on  the  physical  aspects  of 
the  process.  Many  experimenters  have  investigated  the 
question  of  eye  movements  and  the  economics  of  percep- 
tion. It  has  been  shown  that  the  eye  in  its  passage  along 
a  line  pauses  a  number  of  tunes,  and  that  it  is  during  the 
pauses  that  we  perceive  the  words.  The  length  of  these 
pauses  and  the  number  of  them  to  a  line  are  influences  in 
the  rate  of  reading.  The  formation  of  motor  habits,  the 
speed  of  reading  in  relation  to  length  of  line  and  size  of 
print,  the  ease  of  grasping  special  words  which  can  readily 
be  grouped,  as  compared  with  those  which  cannot  be  so 
combined,  have  all  been  subjected  to  experimentation. 
Cattell l,  Erdmann  and  Dodge 2,  Messmer 3,  Dearborn 4, 

1  Cattell,  J.  McK.,  "Uber  die  Zeit  der  Erkennung  und  Benennung 
von  Schriftzeichen,  Bildern  und    Farben."     "  Wundt's   Pbilosophische 
Studien  ",  II,  1885,  and  III,  1886. 

2  Erdmann  and  Dodge,   "  Psychologische  Untersuchungen  uber  das 
Lesen  ",  1898. 

'Messmer,  O.,  "Zur  Psychologic  des  Lesens  bei  Kindern  und  Er- 
wachsenen  ",  1904. 

4  Dearborn,  W.  F.,  "The  Psychology  of  Reading."  "Archives  of 
Philosophy,  Psychology  and  Scientific  Methods",  Vol.  IV,  1906. 


SPECIAL   DEFECTS   IN   LANGUAGE  77 

Hamilton  l,  Huey  2,  and  others,  have  all  made  contribu- 
tions in  this  field. 

Much  less,  however,  has  been  done  to  analyze  the  mental 
processes  which  are  concerned  in  reading.  Able  though 
Huey's  work  is  from  certain  standpoints,  yet  he  hardly 
discusses  the  essential  psychological  phases  of  reading, 
and  all  his  pedagogical  advice  is  based  upon  what  might 
be  called  the  physiology  of  reading.  Meumann,  however, 
presents  in  some  detail  other  factors.  He  mentions  the 
problems  of  the  visual  apparatus  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  ideational  aspects  on  the  other.  He  says  words  and 
the  mental  content  which  they  represent  are  presented 
through  sensory  symbols,  which  must  be  seen  and  inter- 
preted by  the  reader.  There  must  be  a  recognition  of 
letters  and  the  association  of  them  with  sounds,  after 
which  combinations  of  letters  become  associated  with 
combinations  of  sound,  until  whole  words  and  phrases 
are  recognized.  These,  in  turn,  are  associated  with  mean- 
ings. Thus  reading  represents  a  complex  activity  based 
upon  both  analytical  and  synthetic  processes.  There 
are  involved :  perception  and  interpretation  of  symbols, 
memory  —  both  recognition  and  recall  of  immediately 
preceding  ideas,  comprehension,  motor  processes,  emotion, 
and  complex  associations. 

There  are  a  number  of  other  questions  that  have  a 
bearing  on  this  general  subject.  One  of  these,  the 
relationship  of  inner  speech  to  ease  and  speed  of 
reading,  has  been  investigated  by  Pintner.3  The  ability 
to  reproduce  the  meaning  of  what  has  been  read  is  a 
further  problem,  one  of  the  aspects  of  reading  that  is 

'Hamilton,  Francis,  "The  Perceptual  Factors  in  Reading."  "Ar- 
chives of  Psychology."  Columbia  Contributions  to  Philosophy  and 
Psychology.  17,  1907. 

2  Huey,  E.  B.,  "The  Psychology  and  Pedagogy  of  Reading",  1908. 

3  Pintner,  RMj"  Inner  Speech  during  Silent  Reading."     Psychological 
Review,  1913. 


78        PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

measurable  by  tests.  Of  course,  in  order  to  reproduce 
what  is  read  one  must  be  able  to  grasp  the  thought  con- 
veyed by  printed  words,  and  this  requires  a  background 
of  experience  whereby  to  interpret  the  ideas  expressed. 
Inability  to  do  this  is  quite  a  different  matter  from  in- 
ability to  master  the  mechanics  of  reading.  For  acquiring 
the  latter,  Meumann  states  that  teaching  should  be 
adapted  to  the  various  types  of  children,  among  whom 
he  includes  those  who,  because  of  strongly  fluctuating 
attention,  have  difficulty  in  eye  fixation.  Such  children 
require  formal  practice  to  aid  them  in  acquiring  sharper 
visual  impressions.  Further  differentiation  of  teaching 
method  might  be  considered  necessary  for  individuals 
who  use  different  types  of  imagery  —  visual,  auditory,  and 
motor.  However,  since  vision,  audition,  and  motor  pro- 
cesses are  all  involved  in  reading,  Meumann  believes  that, 
practically,  little  heed  need  be  given  to  imagery  types. 

The  details  of  methods  for  teaching  reading  will  not 
be  entered  into  here;  there  has  been  much  debate  con- 
cerning the  relative  merits  of  the  different  procedures  now 
in  use.  It  should  be  recognized  that  discussion  has  been 
largely  based  on  logical  deductions  and  that  little  of  either 
practice  or  theory  in  this  field  rests  upon  any  scientific 
basis. 

By  way  of  summary,  it  may  be  said  that  analysis  of 
the  reading  process  shows  that  there  are  involved  (a) 
perception  of  form  and  sound,  and  discrimination  of 
forms  and  sounds ;  (6)  association  of  sounds  with  visually 
perceived  letters,  of  names  with  groups  of  symbols,  and 
of  meanings  with  groups  of  words ;  (c)  memory,  motor, 
visual,  and  auditory;  and  (d)  the  motor  processes,  as 
used  in  inner  speech  and  in  reading  aloud.  Reviewing 
the  whole  process,  we  see  that  in  the  actual  performance 
of  reading  there  must  be  finally  some  synthetic  process 
uniting  all  the  separate  elements.  This  is  a  point  that 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS   IN   LANGUAGE  79 

has  been  little  emphasized  by  students  of  the  psychology 
of  reading,  but  its  validity  and  importance  seem  clearly 
established  through  our  analysis  of  cases  of  special 
difficulty  in  reading.1 

Analysis  of  the  mental  processes  involved  in  reading 
has  never  been  applied  to  individual  cases  of  inability 
to  learn  to  read,  so  far  as  we  know.  The  fact  that  some 
individuals  have  a  pronounced  disability  in  this  field  has 
been  observed,  it  is  true.  It  is  exceedingly  interesting 
to  find  that  neurologists  and  even  ophthalmologists  have 
dealt  with  this  question  far  more  than  have  psycholo- 
gists. It  is  the  former  who  have  reported  and  analyzed 
cases  of  so-called  congenital  word-blindness  or  alexia. 
Perhaps  it  would  be  best  briefly  to  review  the  main  con- 
tributions dealing  with  this  subject. 

Morgan2  told  in  1896  of  a  lad,  fourteen  years  old, 
who,  in  spite  of  much  instruction,  could  read  only  a  few 
of  the  simplest  words,  could  write  almost  nothing  from 
dictation,  and  made  mistakes  even  in  writing  his  own 
name.  He  learned  to  read  the  letters  of  the  alphabet 
only  after  long  and  painstaking  instruction,  but  he  had 
no  difficulty  in  reading  numerals.  He  solved  simple 
problems  in  algebra  and  could  multiply  three-place  digits. 
He  came  of  an  intelligent  family,  and  except  for  his  special 
disability  was  considered  not  inferior  to  others  of  his 
age.  Morgan  believed  the  inability  to  learn  to  read  and 
to  write  from  dictation  was  due  to  some  congenital  defect 


1  As  early  as  1896,  Richard  Baerwalp!  in  his  book  "Theorie  der  Bega- 
bung ",  discussing  the  psychology  of  reading,  included  the  synthetic 
aspect.     He  calls  synthesis  in  reading  a  mental  function  dealing  with 
meanings  of  words  and  relationships  of  ideas  whereby  the  content  of  a 
passage  is  grasped.     He  believes  this  synthetic  process  should  be  dif- 
ferentiated both    from  association  and   from  apperception.     However, 
we  use  synthesis  to  signify  a  process  which  binds  together  the  separate 
elements  in  the  mechanics  of  reading. 

2  Morgan,   W.   Pringle,   "A  Case  of  Congenital   Word-Blindness,". 
British  Medical  Journal,  November,  1896, 


80         PSYCHOLOGY   OF   ABILITIES   AND   DISABILITIES 

in  the  cortical  center  for  visual  memory  of  words  and 
letters.  Definite  as  his  presentation  of  the  case  is  in 
some  aspects,  there  is  no  study  of  the  various  mental 
processes,  not  even  of  visual  memory. 

Following  the  publication  of  this  article  several  English 
ophthalmologists  became  very  much  interested  in  the 
problem,  and  from  that  date  up  to  the  present  time  they 
have  reported  a  number  of  cases  brought  to  them  for 
examination  as  possibly  suffering  from  defective  vision. 
Hinshelwood  has  offered  a  book  on  the  subject l  and  several 
articles  containing  in  all  four  case-studies : 2  (1)  A  boy 
of  eleven  could  not  read  letters,  words,  or  numerals,  yet 
he  remembered  pictures,  recognized  them  later,  and  had 
such  good  auditory  memory  that  he  learned  his  reading 
lessons  verbatim.  (2)  A  boy,  ten  years  old,  said  to  be 
bright  and  intelligent,  could  read  numbers  well,  knew 
his  letters,  but  could  read  only  a  very  few  words.  (3)  A 
girl  of  ten  after  four  years  in  school  could  read  the  book 
of  Standard  I  only  with  difficulty.  It  had  required  nine 
months'  teaching  before  she  could  recognize  the  letters 
of  the  alphabet.  She,  too,  had  good  auditory  memory, 
could  spell  and  write  correctly  even  from  dictation,  and 
could  add,  subtract,  and  multiply.  (4)  A  boy  of  seven 
attended  school  three  years  without  having  gained  power 
to  read.  He  could  repeat  the  alphabet  orally,  but  had 
trouble  in  recognizing  the  letters.  Oral  spelling  was  quite 
satisfactory,  and  he  could  read  figures  up  to  twenty. 
He  was  considered  by  his  mother  to  be  a  bright  boy. 
Three  months  after  he  was  first  seen  he  was  reported  to 
have  made  excellent  progress ;  at  that  time  he  could  read 
letters,  the  whole  of  the  primer,  and  figures  up  to  one 

1  Hinshelwood,    James,    "  Letter-,    Word-,    and   Mind-Blindness ", 
1902. 

2  Hinshelwood,  James,  "Congenital  Word-Blindness",  Lancet,  May, 
1900;  "Congenital  Word-Blindness",  Ophthalmic  Review,  1902. 


SPECIAL   DEFECTS   IN   LANGUAGE  81 

hundred.  This  progress  was  attributed  to  training  given 
him  individually  for  several  short  periods  a  day.  Hinshel- 
wood  states  that  where  there  is  no  ocular  defect  and  no 
lack  of  general  intelligence,  the  diagnosis  in  such  cases 
must  be  that  of  congenital  word-blindness.  He  concludes, 
on  the  basis  of  the  above  cases,  that  "  visual  memories  of 
words,  letters,  and  figures  are  deposited  in  different  areas 
of  the  cerebral  cortex."  He  advocates  the  use  of  blocks 
for  training,  developing  thereby  "muscle  memories"  to 
take  the  place  of  "visual  memories." 

Nettleship1  reports  a  case  of  a  boy  of  eleven  who  easily 
acquires  information  presented  orally ;  he  can  pronounce 
words  spelled  to  him  and  spells  orally  fairly  well.  He  is 
fond  of  carpentry,  plays  games  quite  well,  his  vision  is 
normal,  yet  he  can  read  only  a  few  words.  Another  boy, 
age  not  stated,  reads  music  and  draws  well,  but  cannot 
read  words.  Details,  even  information  concerning  the 
educational  opportunities,  are  not  given.  This  author 
presents  three  other  cases  all  similar  to  the  above,  one  of 
which  has  been  frequently  cited  because  Nettleship  re- 
ported that  nine  years  after  the  first  examination  the 
patient  had  progressed  to  the  point  of  reading  fluently, 
and,  indeed,  had  become  a  lawyer. 

In  1904,  Sidney  Stephenson 2  described  two  cases : 
One,  a  boy  of  nine,  was  found  to  have  good  powers  of 
observation  and  good  visual  memory;  he  could  sketch 
the  details  of  a  machine  or  building.  He  reasoned  well, 
but  added  to  his  great  disability  in  spelling  and  reading 
was  trouble  with  arithmetic.  Six  months  later  the  boy's 
father  stated  that  there  had  been  improvement  in  both 
reading  and  arithmetic  following  individual  instruction. 

1  Nettleship,  E.,  "Cases  of  Congenital  Word-Blindness  or  Inability 
to  Learn  to  Read."     Ophthalmic  Renew,  1901. 

2  Stephenson,  Sidney,  "  Congenital   Word-Blindness."     Lancet,  Sep- 
tember, 1904. 


82         PSYCHOLOGY   OF   ABILITIES   AND   DISABILITIES 

Before  further  educational  efforts  could  be  made,  the  lad 
unfortunately  died.  The  second  case  was  that  of  a  boy 
of  ten  who  for  five  years  had  been  the  victim  of  extreme 
habit-spasm  and  likewise  suffered  from  defective  hearing 
and  defective  vision.  Heredity  was  negative;  mentally 
he  was  said  to  be  "bright  as  a  lark  and  sharp  as  a  needle." 
He  had  good  memory,  learned  easily,  and  retained  well 
what  he  learned.  His  school  grades  in  divinity,  history, 
and  geography  were  good.  In  arithmetic  his  wrork  graded 
twenty  per  cent.  He  could  not  read  either  printed  matter 
or  handwriting;  he  could  copy  from  the  printed  book, 
but  writing  from  dictation  was  very  poor. 

Among  later  English  writers  may  be  mentioned  C.  J. 
Thomas.1  This  author  apparently  accepts  as  definitely 
localized,  "  Four  special  places  in  the  cortex  of  the  brain, 
which  are  known  as  speech-centers  or  word-centers.  .  .  . 
These  are  the  auditory  speech-center,  the  visual  speech- 
center,  the  motor  speech-center,  and  the  writing-center." 
In  word-blindness  it  is  the  visual  speech-center  that  is 
imperfect;  "word  memories  cannot  be  made"  and  it  is 
therefore  difficult  to  learn  to  read,  write,  and  spell.  The 
cases  discussed  by  Thomas  indicate  that  he  believes 
inability  to  write  from  dictation  frequently  involves 
defects  in  three  of  the  speech-centers  —  auditory,  visual, 
and  writing.  At  other  times  the  difficulty  is  due  to 
imperfections  or  defect  of  "the  associations  between  the 
visual  speech-center  and  the  writing-center."  We  do 
not  know  on  what  bases  these  conclusions  rest. 

In  an  earlier  study  2  he  cites  seven  cases  all  too  briefly, 
without  any  record  of  tests,  and  exhibiting  no  new  or  un- 
common features.  But  merely  on  the  basis  of  ordinary 

1  Thomas,    C.    J.,   "The    Aphasias  of  Childhood."     Public   Health 
(London),  1908. 

2  Thomas,  C.  J.,  "  Congenital  Word-Blindness  and  its  Treatment", 
Ophthalmoscope,  August,  1905. 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS   IN   LANGUAGE  83 

observation,  he  makes  the  generalization  that  while 
visual  memory  for  words  may  be  very  defective, 
visual  memory  for  all  else  may  be  normal  or  even 
unusually  good.  He  tells  of  a  boy  unable  to  read, 
who  was  nevertheless  said  to  be  a  visualizer  because 
his  powers  of  observation  and  description  were  excellent. 
Another  was  said  to  have  marvelous  visual  memory 
for  objects. 

In  1911,  McCall1  reported  very  briefly  a  case  re- 
sembling those  previously  described  by  others,  but  desig- 
nated by  her  an  instance  of  congenital  aphasia.  More 
recently  Whipham  2  gives  in  slightly  more  detail  the  case 
of  an  eight-year-old  girl  who  cannot  say  the  alphabet  al- 
though she  can  write  it  perfectly  on  occasions.  She  cannot 
spell  words  of  two  syllables,  cannot  read  even  easy  words, 
nor  write  from  dictation.  She  can  count  to  twenty  and 
write  numerals  to  twelve.  She  answers  questions,  obeys 
commands,  has  a  good  memory.  She  knows  the  days  of 
the  week,  but  not  the  months  of  the  year.  She  has 
attended  school  for  two  years. 

Besides  the  work  of  the  English  writers,  some  few 
other  cases  have  appeared  in  various  journals.  Otto 
Wernicke  3  of  Buenos  Ayres  tells  of  a  girl  of  nineteen  who 
seemed  of  normal  intelligence;  she  spoke  two  languages, 
could  read  numbers  correctly,  but  she  could  read  printed 
matter  only  slowly  and  after  spelling  the  words  first. 
A  boy  of  ten,  whose  father  was  alcoholic  and  whose  older 
brother  was  feeble-minded,  seemed  lively  and  intelligent. 
He  could  read  six-place  numerals  readily  and  could 
recognize  geometrical  figures.  Letters  were  identified 

1  McCall,  Eva,   "Two   Cases  of  Congenital   Aphasia  in  Children." 
British  Medical  Journal,  May,  1911. 

2  Whipham,    T.    R.,    "Congenital    Word    and    Letter   Blindness." 
British  Journal  Children's  Diseases,  Vol.  13,  1916. 

3  Wernicke,   Otto,   "Congenital   Word-Blindness."      Centralblatt  fur 
Praktische  Augenheilkunde,  September,  1903. 


84         PSYCHOLOGY   OF   ABILITIES   AND   DISABILITIES 

with  difficulty  and  syllables  or  words  not  at  all.  Foerster  * 
tells  of  a  man  twenty-seven  years  old,  who  could  copy  a 
text,  but  could  not  read  or  understand  what  he  had 
written;  he  recognized  the  letters  separately  and  even 
single  syllables,  but  no  words.  He  could  write  three 
numerals  from  dictation  and  could  read  numbers  of  four 
digits.  However,  it  should  be  added  that  this  subject  was 
feeble-minded. 

This  case  was  discussed  by  Madame  Dejerine,  who  be- 
lieves the  term  word-blindness  should  be  confined  to  the 
sense  in  which  it  is  used  by  neurologists,  namely,  loss  of 
ability  to  read  and  write  due  to  cerebral  lesion  on  the 
part  of  one  who  had  previously  been  able  to  do  so.  She 
felt  it  unwise  to  confuse  a  loss  of  function  with  the  ab- 
sence of  a  function.  Brissaud  2  and  other  French  authori- 
ties concur  in  this  view. 

Indeed,  this  is  the  standpoint  of  practically  all  neurolo- 
gists ;  they  discuss  the  results  that  follow  definitely  local- 
ized cortical  lesions.  It  is  noteworthy  that  even  C. 
Wernicke  3  in  his  classic  article  on  disturbances  of  written 
language,  makes  no  mention  of  congenital  word-blindness. 
Ladd  and  Woodworth  4  define  word-blindness  or  alexia  as 
"inability  to  read,  occurring,  of  course,  in  a  person  who 
previously  could  read  and  who  has  not  become  blind." 
The  writing  center,  definitely  localized  by  some  and  be- 
lieved to  be  defective  when  there  is  difficulty  in  spelling 
and  writing  from  dictation,  they  state  has  merely  been 

1  Foerster,  M.  R.,     "A  propos  de  la  Pathologie  de  la  Lecture  et  de 
L'Ecriture   (Cecit6  Verbale  Congenitale  chez  un  debile).     Revue  Neu- 
rologigue,  1904,  p.  200. 

2  Brissaud,  M.,  "Cficite'  Verbale  Congenitale."     Revue  Neurologique, 
1904,  p.  101. 

3  Wernicke,    C.,     "The    Symptom-Complex    of    Aphasia:     II.  Dis- 
turbances of    Written   Language."     Translated   from  "  Die   Deutsche 
Klinik"  in  "Diseases  of  the  Nervous  System",   edited  by  Archibald 
Church,  1908. 

4  Ladd  and  Woodworth,     "  Elements  of  Physiological  Psychology", 
1911. 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN   LANGUAGE  85 

asserted,  but  "negative  and  mixed  cases  have  sufficient 
weight  to  prevent  a  general  acceptance  of  this  localiza- 
tion." 

A  number  of  writers  have  discussed  the  etiology  of  this 
defect,  some  endeavoring  to  prove  the  thesis  that  heredity 
is  a  cause.  Thomas 1  tells  of  a  child  whose  mother 
said  that  she  and  five  other  children  all  were  unable  to 
learn  to  read.  Stephenson 2  has  reported  a  case  where 
three  generations  were  affected,  the  maternal  grand- 
mother, four  of  the  mother's  siblings,  and  the  patient,  a 
girl  of  fourteen.  All  the  data  were  general  reports,  no 
one  but  the  patient  having  personally  been  seen.  Plate  3 
writes  even  more  unsatisfactorily  of  four  cases  in  one 
family;  the  only  peculiarity  in  these  instances  consists 
apparently  in  inability  to  spell  correctly.  Several  other 
similar  types  of  cases  are  reported.  In  general  the  facts 
of  heredity  in  all  the  published  studies  are  extremely  in- 
adequately known. 

One  of  the  best  articles  from  the  standpoint  of  review 
and  discussion  of  the  literature  is  presented  by  McCready.4 
He  attempts  to  strengthen  his  thesis  —  "  that  there  is 
distinct  hereditary  influence  there  can  be  little  doubt" 
—  by  citing  reported  cases  where  the  patient  came  of  a 
neuropathic  family.  But  without  reconciliation  to  this 
view,  he  further  adds  as  causes,  defective  intra-uterine 
development,  injuries  at  birth,  acute  infectious  diseases  in 
infancy,  and  defective  post-natal  development.  He  gives 
a  case  which  he  calls  congenital  word-blindness,  that  was 

1  Thomas,  C.  J.,  "Congenital  Word-Blindness  and  its  Treatment." 
Ophthalmoscope,  August,  1905. 

2  Stephenson,  Sidney,  "  Six  Cases  of  Congenital  Word-Blindness  Affect- 
ing Three  Generations  of  one  Family."     Ophthalmoscope,  August,  1907. 

3  Plate,  Erich,     "  Vier  Falle  von  Kongenitaler  Wortblindheit  in  einer 
Familie."     Muenchener  Medizinische  Wochenschrift,  August,  1909. 

4  McCready,    E.    B.,     "Congenital  Word-Blindness   as   a   Cause  of 
Backwardness   in   School    Children."     Pennsylvania  Medical  Journal, 
January,  1910. 


86        PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

associated  with  stuttering.  This  is  reported  with  only  a 
meager  psychological  analysis  and  no  record  of  tests. 

Witmer,1  using  the  term,  amnesia  visualis  wrbalis,  re- 
ports the  case  of  a  boy,  fourteen  years  old,  whose  abilities 
and  disabilities  were  as  follows :  (1)  general  intelligence 
equal  to  or  above  the  average;  (2)  ability  to  express 
thoughts  in  spoken  language  normal;  (3)  memory  for 
sounds  good ;  (4)  visual  memory  for  color,  simple  geomet- 
rical forms,  and  separate  letters  good ;  (5)  visual  memory 
for  words  defective ;  he  cannot  read ;  (6)  spells  correctly 
only  such  words  as  can  be  spelled  from  component  sounds. 
This  boy  was  found  to  be  suffering  from  severe  diplopia, 
which  Witmer  believed  had  prevented  the  storing  up  of 
normal  visual  images.  To  this  was  due  the  inability  to 
read  and  spell,  rather  than  to  congenital  word-blindness. 

The  discussion  to  which  this  case  led  illustrates  the 
need  for  differential  psychological  as  well  as  physiological 
diagnosis.  McCready  thought  Witmer's  explanation  in- 
sufficient ;  if  the  boy  could  draw  well  and  possibly  could 
recognize  numerals  (this  latter  point  not  having  been 
specifically  negated  by  Witmer),  it  would  seem  there  was 
no  general  visual  defect.  In  the  analysis  of  the  case, 
these  specific  facts  are  not  covered  nor  are  the  tests  given ; 
one  is  therefore  left  in  final  doubt  regarding  the  problem. 

We  have  seen  several  instances  where  word  images  had 
not  been  accumulated,  due  to  vision  so  defective  as  to 
preclude  the  possibility  of  acquiring  clear  visual  pictures. 
We  have  not  thought  of  interpreting  such  cases  as  due  to 
an  inherent  disability  for  reading;  the  trouble  is  func- 
tional as  far  as  the  central  nervous  system  is  concerned, 
normal  imagery  having  no  chance  for  development. 

Reviewing  the  work  thus  far  done,  it  may  be  said  that 
the  English  school  first  used  the  term  congenital  word- 

1  Witmer,  Lightner,  "A  Case  of  Chronic  Bad  Spelling,  Amnesia 
Visualis  Verbalia.".  Psychological  Clinic,  August,  1907. 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN   LANGUAGE  87 

blindness  and  has  offered  most  of  the  published  cases. 
On  the  whole,  from  a  psychological  standpoint,  these 
cases  have  been  very  inadequately  studied  and  poorly 
analyzed ;  no  psychological  tests  have  been  used,  and  no 
standard  for  gauging  general  intelligence  has  been  em- 
ployed. Tasks  placed  in  the  Binet  scale  at  the  four-year 
level  of  intelligence  are  cited  as  evidence  of  good  mental- 
ity in  the  case  of  an  eleven-year-old  boy.  Even  visual 
memory  has  not  often  been  tested.  All  together,  the 
material  is  most  unsatisfactory.  Congenital  defect  of  a 
visual  word-center  has  not  been  proved  or  even  recognized 
by  neurologists.  Indeed,  the  evidence  in  favor  of  a 
congenital  defect  localized  in  a  definite  visual  center  for 
words  rests  solely  on  the  inability  to  read,  an  interpretation 
based  on  a  supposed  analogy  to  disabilities  due  to  known 
cerebral  lesions. 

When  we  consider  the  complexity  of  the  reading  pro- 
cess and  the  various  phases  of  mental  life  that  are  involved 
therein,  we  are  led  to  wonder  whether  the  phrase  "con- 
genital word-blindness"  is  anything  more  than  a  blanket 
term,  easy  to  apply,  but  of  little  value  either  for  under- 
standing the  problem  or  for  offering  help  in  regard  to 
training.  If  inability  to  read  can  be  due  to  inadequate 
functioning  of  other  mental  processes,  such  as  the  synthe- 
sizing faculty  we  have  already  dwelt  on,  there  is  left  no 
support  for  the  alleged  fact  of  narrowly  localized  cerebral 
insufficiency,  though  this  does  not  mean  that  some  central 
defect  does  not  exist.  The  definite  criteria  formulated 
for  diagnosis,  particularly  by  McCready,  cannot  be  re- 
garded as  scientifically  established.  He  states :  "  Given 
a  child  of  school  age,  intelligent  in  other  respects,  not 
backward  in  other  studies,  who  has  difficulty  in  learning 
to  read  and  who  constantly  makes  mistakes,  who  has  nor- 
mal vision  or  refraction  corrected  by  glasses,  there  should 
be  no  hesitancy  in  attributing  the  trouble  to  congenital 


88        PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

word-blindness."  At  the  present  stage  of  our  knowledge 
there  is  no  establishing  by  symptoms  the  fact  of  congenital 
localized  neural  lesions  or  defects  analogous  to  acquired 
lesions,  and  our  case-histories  show  that  inability  to  learn 
to  read  may  rest  upon  a  basis  of  various  defective  powers. 
Though  we  agree  with  various  authors  in  the  fact  itself, 
namely,  that  there  sometimes  does  exist  a  special  defect 
or  disability  in  reading,  yet  in  our  own  discussions,  we  have 
avoided  the  use  of  the  term  word-blindness.  At  the  pres- 
ent time  its  use  is  questionable  and  much  more  experi- 
mentation is  necessary  in  this  field  before  other  defects 
can  be  ruled  out  as  possible  explanations  of  disability  for 
reading,  alexia.  In  any  case,  there  is  no  particular  value 
in  the  term  congenital  word-blindness.  What  is  needed 
in  every  case  is  study  of  all  mental  processes,  careful, 
thorough,  and  of  as  wide  a  range  as  possible,  with  thought- 
ful analysis  of  the  results  —  analysis  which  shall  reveal 
not  only  the  defective  processes,  but  also  the  capacities 
that  may  be  used  as  compensatory  in  training. 

SPELLING 

The  problems  of  spelling  will  be  only  briefly  discussed, 
for  it  is  quite  generally  recognized  that  individuals  differ 
widely  in  their  ability  to  master  this  subject.  All  writers 
on  the  question*  have  agreed  that  many  persons  well 
educated  are  unable  to  spell  correctly.  The  studies  of 
Rice  l  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the  amount  of  time  de- 
voted to  the  teaching  of  spelling  and  the  methods  used 
have  little  correlation  with  the  results  achieved.  He 
found  that  in  various  school  systems  the  periods  given 
for  teaching  spelling  vary  greatly,  but  that  the  results 
bear  no  relationship  to  this  factor  of  time  and  drill. 
Methods  of  teaching  used  in  this  field  are  as  yet  little  deter- 


J.  M.,   "The  Futility  of  the  Spelling  Grind."     The  Forum, 
Vol.  23,  1897. 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN   LANGUAGE  89 

mined  by  any  psychological  laws.  Lay *  and  Abbott  and 
Kuhlmann 2  have  studied  experimentally  the  psychologi- 
cal elements  involved  in  spelling,  in  an  effort  to  find  the 
success  that  follows  auditory  presentation  of  words  as 
compared  with  visual,  and  to  discover  the  differences 
when  these  processes  are  accompanied  by  soft  and  loud 
speaking  and  other  motor  reactiqns,  such  as  the  movement 
of  the  hand  in  writing  the  word.  Upon  the  whole,  all 
studies  emphasize  the  fact  that  discrimination  of  sound 
and  association  of  visual  form  with  the  sound  of  the  word 
are  main  elements  in  spelling. 

In  our  own  work  we  have  never  concerned  ourselves 
much  with  any  defect  for  spelling  as  such,  that  is,  where 
no  other  difficulties  in  learning  were  found.  This  attitude 
has  been  adopted  because  of  the  fact  before  stated, 
namely,  that  many  intelligent  and  well-educated  people 
remain  all  their  lives  poor  spellers.  However,  we  have 
noted  that  poor  spelling  is  often  correlated  with  poor 
reading  ability  and  at  times  with  other  disabilities  in 
language. 

SPOKEN  LANGUAGE 

The  development  of  ability  to  use  language  as  a  medium 
of  expression  has  been  discussed  by  numerous  writers. 
Kirkpatrick 3  believes  that  speech  is  an  expressive  in- 
stinct which  owes  its  origin  to  other  instincts.  The  desire 
to  express,  to  make  wants  known,  begins  with  gesture  and 
various  cries;  the  latter,  really  vocal  manipulations, 
develop  into  words  through  imitation  coupled  with  the 
play  instinct  and  encouraged  by  approval.  First  mere 
sounds  are  made,  then  follows  the  period  of  "word- 

1  Lay,  "  Studien  und  Versuche  iiber  die  Erlernung  der  Orthographic  ", 
1908. 

1  Abbott  and  Kuhlmann,  "On  the  Analysis  of  the  Memory 
Consciousness."  Psychological  Review,  Monograph  Supplement  XI, 
1909. 

1  Kirkpatrick,  E.  A.,  "Fundamentals  of  Child  Study  ",  1911. 


90         PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

learning"  and  later  the  sentence-making  stage.  Pro- 
nunciation is  a  matter  of  auditory  perception  coupled 
with  memory  and  requiring  control  of  voluntary  muscula- 
ture.1 

Defect  in  ability  to  use  language  for  purposes  of  self- 
expression  is  evidenced  by  poor  vocabulary,  wrong  use  of 
words,  and  incoherent  statements  as  well  as  by  special 
tests.  The  old  notion  that  if  one  understood  a  fact  or 
had  an  idea  he  could  readily  express  it,  is  not  altogether 
true.  Sometimes  one  feels  certain  that  there  is  an  under- 
standing, a  comprehension,  a  thought,  but  that  the  ex- 
pression of  it  is  totally  inadequate. 

The  term  congenital  word-deafness,  referring  to  inability 
to  understand  and  use  spoken  language,  is  frequently 
used,  but  few  cases  can  be  found  in  the  literature.  The 
condition  is  not  often  met  and  we  have  never  studied  a 
case  in  our  own  clinic. 

Town 2  presents  the  only  thoroughly  studied  case 
we  find ;  that  of  a  boy  eight  years  old  whose  condition, 
however,  was  probably  not  congenital,  but  dated  as  early 
in  life  as  the  first  week,  when  he  had  a  serious  illness  ac- 
companied by  spasms  which  left  him  partially  paralyzed 
on  the  left  side.  The  paralysis  disappeared  during  in- 
fancy. At  sixteen  months  he  contracted  measles,  which 
was  followed  by  chorea,  and  at  three  years  an  attack  of 

1  It  is  obvious  that  there  may  be  extreme  disabilities  for  language 
dependent  upon  brain  lesions  or  brain  defects,  just  as  there  may  be 
cerebral  motor  paralyses.     Cases  of  the  type  which  Broadbent  ("Cere- 
bral Mechanism  of  Speech  and  Thought",  Medico  Chirurgical   Trans- 
actions, Volume  55,   February,   1872)  first  reported,   where  there  was 
word-blindness  with  motor  aphasia,  have  not  been  dealt  with  in  this 
book.     In  our  clinic  we  have  seen  a  number  of  instances  where  it  was 
plain  that  language  disability  was  altogether  disproportionate  to  the 
general  intelligence ;  for  instance,  a  young  boy  totally  unable  to  speak 
very  evidently  understood  directions  given  through  signs.     Although 
these  are  educational  problems  to  some  extent,  they  are  so  primarily 
neurological  that  they  seem  not  in  place  in  this  volume. 

2  Town,  Clara  Harrison,  "Congenital  Aphasia."      The  Psychological 
Clinic,  November,  1911. 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN   LANGUAGE  91 

scarlet  fever  left  an  otitis  media.  At  the  time  of  the  ex- 
amination he  was  well  nourished  and  showed  no  lack  of 
coordination  in  either  eye  or  hand  movements.  He  could 
not  understand  or  use  language  normally,  nevertheless  he 
gave  no  evidence  of  general  mental  defect.  He  made  his 
wants  known  by  means  of  gestures  and  comprehended  di- 
rections given  him  by  signs.  He  understood  the  uses  of  ob- 
jects, gave  evidence  of  retentive  memory,  was  interested  in 
finding  the  causes  of  events,  and  quick  to  perceive  visual 
stimuli  of  all  kinds.  Nor  was  he  deaf  to  noises.  He 
could  repeat  words  uttered  in  an  ordinary  tone,  not 
correctly,  but  in  a  way  that  approximated  the  original. 
He  could  name  about  thirty-six  objects  or  their  pictures 
and  used  voluntarily  about  twenty-four  words,  having 
in  all  a  vocabulary  of  at  least  sixty  words.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  apparently  understood  only  about  twelve  very 
simple  words  when  spoken.  He  heard  other  words,  as 
was  proven  by  the  fact  that  he  would  repeat  them,  but 
he  did  not  understand  them,  as  was  shown  by  his  failure 
to  comply  with  requests  or  point  out  objects.  On  the 
Binet  tests  which  were  given  him,  he  passed  all  the  tests 
up  to  and  including  those  for  children  of  six  years  which 
did  not  require  the  understanding  of  language,  failing  in 
all  those  whose  meaning  could  not  be  conveyed  by  gestures. 
Good  visual  perception  of  form  was  shown  in  his  handling 
of  the  form-board  test,  which  was  done  accurately  and 
without  hesitation.  Color  discrimination  was  good,  and 
he  showed  some  initiative  in  cutting  from  paper  simple 
figures  without  aid  or  suggestion.  The  special  diagnosis 
reached  was  that  the  boy  was  suffering  from  mental  de- 
fect limited  to  the  language  field  and  independent  of 
any  other  mental  deficiency.  The  second  case  reported 
by  Doctor  Town  is  less  thoroughly  studied  and  is  less 
convincing.  In  this  instance,  also,  the  child  had  suffered 
from  otitis  media. 


92         PSYCHOLOGY   OF   ABILITIES   AND   DISABILITIES 

In  cases  of  this  type  every  effort  in  determining  etiology 
should  be  made  to  rule  out  abnormal  conditions  of  the 
auditory  apparatus  as  possible  cause  of  ordinary  auditory 
images  not  being  stored.  (This  would  make  a  situation 
similar  to  non-acquirement  of  normal  visual  impressions 
on  account,  of  defective  eyesight.)  An  essential  pecu- 
liarity in  regard  to  this  problem  is  that  tests  proving  hear- 
ing normal  at  the  tune  of  examination  by  no  means  show 
that  in  the  past  there  was  no  auditory  defect,  such  as 
would  be  caused  by  an  inflammatory  process,  notably 
otitis  media.  Lack  of  consideration  of  this  important 
point  reduces  the  value  of  the  cases  of  "word-deafness" 
reported  by  Thomas  1  and  McCall,2  neither  of  whom  gives 
developmental  history  to  rule  out  any  prior  difficulty  with 
the  auditory  apparatus.  Also,  curiously  enough,  both  of 
these  instances  are  given  without  any  detailed  study  of 
the  facts  of  general  intelligence. 

CASE  STUDIES  OF  DEFECT  IN  LANGUAGE  ABILITY 

The  examples  given  cover  disability  in  learning  to  read 
and  in  use  of  language,  incidentally  including  difficulties 
with  spelling  as  they  are  correlated  with  other  language 
defects. 

Case  14.  This  case  is  presented  as  illustrating  defect 
in  special  mental  processes  leading  to  disability  for  read- 
ing. Here  we  find  a  marked  deficiency  in  auditory  powers, 
shown  by  poor  auditory  memory  and  defective  discrimi- 
nation of  sound.  In  marked  contradistinction,  other 
mental  traits  are  normal  or  above  normal. 

Adolph  J.,  15£  years  old,  was  sent  to  us  as  a  behavior 
case,  but  proved  to  be  much  more  an  educational  problem. 

1  Thomas,   C.  J.,  "Congenital  Word-Blindness  and  Its  Treatment." 
Ophthalmoscope,  August,  1905. 

2  McCall,  Eva,   "Two  Cases  of  Congenital  Aphasia  in  Children." 
British  Medical  Journal,  May,  1911. 


SPECIAL   DEFECTS   IN   LANGUAGE  93 

We  found  him  a  most  interesting  study.  In  many  ways 
the  boy  was  exceedingly  capable.  He  was  American 
born  and  he  had  never  been  truant,  yet  after  attending 
schools,  both  public  and  private,  from  his  sixth  year  to 
his  fifteenth,  he  was  only  in  fifth  grade.  Still,  as 
seen  in  the  laboratory,  he  showed  a  splendid  attitude 
toward  mental  tasks ;  he  was  greatly  interested  in  all  the 
tests  and  made  an  effort  to  do  well.  On  the  whole,  he 
showed  very  good  powers  of  attention  and  worked  per- 
sistently with  no  evidence  of  fatigue.  His  emotions 
seemed  altogether  normal,  both  as  seen  in  his  reactions 
during  the  test  work  and  as  evidenced  by  his  own  and  his 
mother's  story. 

Reading,  no  matter  how  simple  the  passage,  occasioned 
him  much  difficulty.  He  made  errors  in  the  reading  of 
very  simple  words,  for  example  he  called  "often"  "after", 
"about"  was  pronounced  as  "along."  He  failed  ab- 
solutely on  such  words  as  "autumn",  "winds", 
"frightened."  Indeed,  he  never  seemed  certain  of  any 
words  except  the  simplest,  such  as  "the",  "and",  and 
other  common  monosyllables.  Speaking  of  his  reading, 
he  said,  "  The  kids  at  school  would  always  laugh  at  me. 
I  got  so  I  wouldn't  read  at  all.  Sure,  my  teachers  tried 
to  help  me,  but  it  seemed  like  I  couldn't  pick  it  up." 
He  had  never  read  a  book,  could  not  read  the  newspapers, 
and,  in  consequence,  was  very  poorly  informed  in  spite 
of  his  good  ability  in  many  directions. 

Turning  to  other  school  work,  we  found  that  the  boy 
had  no  difficulty  with  arithmetic.  He  had  had  little 
opportunity  of  learning  upper  grade  work,  but  was 
familiar  with  the  fundamental  processes  and  did  quite 
well  all  tests  involving  money  and  its  use,  and  also 
problems  in  arithmetic.  On  the  other  hand,  spelling  was 
exceedingly  poor ;  we  found  that  the  boy  could  not  depend 
upon  the  sound  of  words  at  all;  these  very  evidently 


94        PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

meant  nothing  to  him.  He  himself  said  he  had  to  learn 
his  spelling  entirely  by  "the  looks  of  words."  He  eyed 
quite  critically  the  word  "gril"  intended  for  "girl",  and 
he  finally  decided  that  it  looked  all  right.  After  writing 
the  word  "print"  for  "printer",  he  wanted  to  know  if 
that  really  was  "printer"  or  "painter  ",  he  thought  he 
might  have  confused  the  two;  he  had  no  sense  of  the 
phonetic  values. 

Other  test  results  brought  out  some  very  interesting 
features.  All  construction  tests  were  done  well,  showing 
very  good  perception  of  form  and  form  relationships. 
The  method  employed  was  planful  and  showed  the  boy 
to  be  rather  deliberate  and  thoughtful  in  the  solving  of 
problems  of  this  kind.  As  evidenced  by  several  other 
tests,  designed  for  the  purpose,  we  found  his  perception 
of  form  and  the  discrimination  of  one  form  from  another 
to  be  quite  normal.  Visual  perceptions  were  accurate  and 
rapid.  Allowed  to  look  at  a  picture  for  ten  seconds,  the 
boy  gave  details  accurately,  having  noticed  many  of  the 
minor  points.  Powers  of  analysis  and  mental  representa- 
tion were  found  to  be  distinctly  good,  tests  in  these  fields 
being  done  very  rapidly  and  with  ease.  General  powers 
of  apperception  were  extremely  good.  This  was  shown 
both  on  special  tests  for  apperception  and  by  his  courtesy 
and  other  good  general  social  behavior.  The  boy  was  ex- 
ceedingly keen  and  quick  in  grasping  the  gist  of  a  situation, 
in  making  inferences,  and  in  the  understanding  of  his  own 
peculiar  handicaps.  Indeed,  this  characteristic  and  his 
good  reasoning  ability  were  very  striking. 

He  demonstrated  ability  to  analyze  and  reason,  not  only 
with  concrete  problems  presented  him,  but  in  other  fields. 
His  quickness  in  replying  to  the  common-sense  tests  of 
the  Binet  series,  his  keen  sense  of  humor  in  the  incon- 
gruities test,  his  good  ability  in  arithmetic  problems,  all 
corroborated  this.  He  was  critical  of  his  own  perform- 


SPECIAL   DEFECTS   IN   LANGUAGE  95 

ances,  noting  for  himself  any  errors  which  he  made  and 
correcting  them.  Thus,  after  completing  the  continuous 
subtraction  test,  he  said,  "I  made  a  mistake  in  that", 
and  proceeded  to  correct  his  errors.  In  the  description  of 
pictures  his  excellent  interpretations  indicated  splendid 
powers  of  imagination.  His  association  processes  were 
well  controlled ;  verbal  associations  were  extremely  rapid. 
He  showed  normal  learning  ability  in  the  forming  of 
associations  between  arbitrary  symbols.  Psychomotor 
control  was  not  particularly  good,  -the  boy  being  quite 
accurate,  but  slow  in  tests  for  this. 

The  study  of  the  memory  processes  presented  several 
points  of  great  interest.  Visual  memory  was  at  least 
normal  both  for  rote  and  for  logical  material,  but  in  the 
auditory  field  there  were  striking  defects.  In  spite  of 
his  exceedingly  good  powers  in  other  ways,  this  boy 
found  the  greatest  difficulty  in  reproducing  five  numerals 
given  him  auditorily.  He  succeeded  only  once  in  twelve 
trials.  This  is  a  record  much  below  the  normal  for  his 
age;  a  five-place  number  should  be  readily  reproduced 
by  an  eight-year-old  child.  In  the  passage  for  logical 
memory,  presented  to  him  auditorily,  he  did  very  well, 
but  here  he  was  aided  by  the  ideas  which  he  reproduced, 
as  well  as  by  the  ability  to  transpose  the  auditory  passage 
into  visual  terms.  There  were  numerous  verbal  inaccura- 
cies, and  the  English  employed  was  exceedingly  poor. 
Memory  for  syllables,  given  auditorily,  likewise  was  much 
below  normal;  indeed,  there  were  many  evidences  that 
this  boy  had  a  distinct  defect  in  the  auditory  field.  His 
enunciation  was  extremely  faulty,  though  his  vocabulary 
showed  a  fairly  wide  range.  He  was  unable  to  reproduce 
catch  sentences  given  him,  such  as  "Thomas  Theophilus 
Thinkum  Thunkum  ",  or  "Round  the  rough  and  rugged 
rock  the  ragged  rascal  ran ",  even  though  these  were 
repeated  to  him  three  tunes  or  more.  He  never  succeeded 


96        PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

in  saying  the  word  "Constantinople."  It  was  evident 
that  he  did  not  hear  all  the  sounds,  for  certain  syllables 
were  slurred  over  in  every  trial.  In  reciting  a  verse  of 
"America",  he  enunciated  many  words  poorly  and  used 
some  incorrectly,  for  example,  "Of  Thee  I  See."  He 
repeated  this  when  the  verse  was  said  for  him  with  the 
words  very  clearly  enunciated.  (It  should  be  added  here 
that  physical  examination  showed  no  defect  in  hearing.) 

In  the  light  of  the  results  on  these  tests,  it  is  not  so 
difficult  to  understand  why  this  boy  has  been  unable  to 
learn  to  read.  No  doubt  the  clue  is  to  be  found  in  his 
defective  auditory  powers.  His  auditory  perceptions  are 
exceedingly  faulty,  and  his  auditory  memory  is  very  poor. 
Much  of  the  help  which  comes  consciously  and  uncon- 
sciously from  the  auditory  field  was  lost  to  this  boy. 
Remembering  that  both  association  of  sounds  with  visual 
stimuli  and  auditory  memory  are  elements  in  the  reading 
process,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  defects  in  these 
functions  may  cause  inability  to  learn  to  read. 

Nothing  had  ever  been  done  to  help  this  boy  overcome 
his  handicap  by  adapting  methods  to  his  needs.  Surely, 
since  he  can  get  certain  sounds  correctly  and  can  speak 
so  that  he  can  be  understood,  even  though  his  enunciation 
is  poor,  his  auditory  powers  could  have  been  improved  by 
training.  This  would  seem  a  justifiable  deduction,  but 
it  does  not  mean  that  this  could  be  done  without  special 
effort.  To  have  used  more  extensively  his  naturally  good 
visual  powers  might  also  have  been  a  vast  help. 

It  is  quite  clear  how  much  this  boy's  time  had  been 
misused  in  the  school,  for  with  his  very  good  ability  in 
so  many  directions  he  could  have  progressed  much  more 
rapidly.  To  have  spent  nine  years  in  the  first  five  grades 
and  even  then  not  have  gained  ability  to  read  simple 
passages,  has  been  a  great  wrong.  His  failure  was  not 
to  be  explained  by  any  physical  handicap ;  though  small, 


SPECIAL   DEFECTS   IN    LANGUAGE  97 

he  was  in  good  physical  condition,  nor  were  facts  of 
heredity  and  developmental  and  environmental  history 
significant. 

The  educational  failure,  in  this  case,  has  distinct  re- 
lationship to  the  boy's  delinquencies.  He  was  reported 
as  earlier  mischievous  in  school,  and,  because  of  annoying 
girls,  was  suspended.  Later,  when  working,  he  engaged 
in  petty  stealing,  and  finally,  after  dissatisfaction  with 
his  work,  ran  away  from  home. 

Case  15.  In  contrast  to  the  preceding  case  is  this 
example  of  inability  to  learn  to  read  correlated  with  ex- 
treme defect  in  the  visual  field,  the  auditory  powers  being 
quite  normal. 

James  M.,  fifteen  years  old,  was  brought  us  by  his 
parents  as  an  educational  problem.  They  said  that  he 
had  never  learned  anything  in  school,  that  his  teachers 
had  tried  to  help  him,  unsuccessfully,  and  the  parents  had 
reached  the  conclusion  that  "he  is  just  good  for  nothing 
and  won't  ever  do  anything  in  school." 
;  Examination  for  ability  in  the  ordinary  school  subjects 
showed  that  the  boy's  retardation  was  due  to  his  inability 
to  read.  Number  work  was  well  done  for  the  fifth  grade 
which  he  had  reached,  and  geographical  knowledge  was 
quite  accurate,  but  it  was  seen  at  once  that  reading  was 
the  stumbling  block.  The  word  "cylinder"  was  pro- 
nounced "candle",  "crib"  was  read  as  "club",  "tunnel" 
as  "turn."  These  were  typical  errors  made  throughout  a 
fairly  simple  passage.  James  told  us  that  he  could  not 
master  reading ;  that  he  had  never  read  a  book,  although 
he  had  enjoyed  stories  read  to  him  by  his  mother. 

Mental  tests  proved  this  boy  to  be  exceedingly  capable 
in  some  directions.  He  did  problems  involving  the  use 
of  concrete  material  in  a  thoroughly  planful  manner, 
solving  them  quite  rapidly.  He  showed  good  psychomotor 
control.  Tests  requiring  powers  of  mental  representation 


98        PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

and  analysis  were  done  readily.  The  memory  tests  for 
logical  material  were  likewise  done  quite  well,  as  far  as 
general  results  went,  but  certain  peculiarities  were  noted. 
In  the  test  where  a  passage  is  presented  by  auditory  means, 
that  is,  where  it  was  read  to  him,  he  reproduced  ten  of  the 
twelve  ideas  with  fair  verbal  accuracy  and  almost  in 
correct  order.  On  the  other  hand,  when  he  himself  read 
a  passage,  he  read  it  slowly  and  with  much  trouble, 
later  reproducing  eighteen  of  the  twenty  ideas,  but  with 
many  changes  in  logical  sequence.  When  the  reproduc- 
tion was  completed,  the  boy  himself  said,  "  I  know  part  of 
it  was  wrong,  it  didn't  sound  right,"  after  which  he  ex- 
plained the  method  he  had  used.  He  stated,  "  I  read  each 
line  over  and  then  said  it  to  myself  ",  for,  he  explained, 
he  was  unable  to  learn  anything  which  he  did  not  first 
hear. 

The  striking  defect  in  powers  of  visualizing  was  quite 
apparent  in  another  test  for  visual  memory.  Shown  the 
two  geometrical  Binet  figures  for  ten  seconds  and  then 
asked  to  draw  what  he  had  seen,  the  boy  made  errors  in 
both.  After  a  second  exposure  he  reproduced  the  figures 
correctly.  In  explanation  of  this  he  very  clearly  stated 
that  he  had  been  unable  to  visualize  the  figures,  but  had 
described  the  forms  to  himself,  as  it  were,  and  followed  his 
own  description.  It  was  interesting  to  note  that  in  the 
first  reproduction,  where  errors  were  made,  this  was  due 
to  the  faulty  description  to  himself  of  what  he  had  seen. 
Thus,  he  said  to  himself,  "There  are  three  squares  con- 
nected together  with  the  two  outside  ones  turned  opposite 
each  other.  The  second  time  I  said  to  myself,  the  middle 
square  had  one  side  out."  In  each  instance  the  reproduc- 
tion which  he  drew  corresponded  to  his  unspoken  verbal 
description. 

If  we  try  to  explain  this  boy's  disability  in  reading,  we 
should  say,  in  the  light  of  the  results  on  tests,  that  it  is 


SPECIAL   DEFECTS   IN   LANGUAGE  99 

due  to  poor  visual  powers.  He  himself  recognized  the 
fact  that  he  had  to  learn  most  things  through  sound. 
He  said,  in  regard  to  spelling,  in  which  he  was  fairly  accu- 
rate, "  I  can  learn  to  spell  words  if  some  one  spells  them  out 
to  me  or  if  I  spell  them  out  to  myself.  I  have  to  hear  the 
sound  of  the  words."  This  corroborates,  of  course,  what 
the  boy  previously  said  when  reproducing  the  memory 
passage  given  him  visually.  Clearly,  visual  material 
which  cannot  be  recast  into  auditory  form,  or  summarized 
in  terms  of  ideas,  is  hard  for  this  boy  to  control.  In 
reading,  naturally,  it  would  be  most  difficult  to  convert 
all  the  pictures  of  various  words  into  other  than  visual 
terms,  hence  the  boy's  great  failure  in  this  whole  field.  It 
is  very  certain  that  this  case  could  not  be  used  as  argument 
that  trouble  in  learning  to  read  even  when  caused  by  visual 
difficulties  is  due  to  a  defect  in  the  hypothetical  visual 
word-center. 

What  might  have  been  done  for  this  lad  had  his  trouble 
been  understood  years  earlier  than  it  was,  is  difficult  to 
know  now,  but  there  is  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  without 
recognition  of  his  defect  in  visual  memory  and  powers  of 
visualization,  he  could  not  be  properly  taught.  On  the 
other  hand,  with  an  effort  made  to  develop  powers  of 
visualizing  and  to  adapt  methods  to  meet  his  particular 
difficulties,  he  might  have  made  much  greater  headway. 
From  the  fact  that  he  had  learned  to  read  shorter  words, 
those  more  commonly  met,  it  is  evident  that  the  visual 
powers,  while  doubtless  much  below  normal,  must  exist 
to  some  extent,  and  individual  training  probably  could 
have  increased  them  enormously.  By  good  phonetic 
drill,  associating  the  sound  of  letters  and  groups  of  letters 
with  the  visual  form,  the  number  of  words  which  would 
have  to  be  remembered  as  visual  wholes  would  have  been 
gradually  decreased,  and  a  tool  given  whereby  the  boy 
might  have  helped  himself  to  a  considerable  extent.  His 


100      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

naturally  good  auditory  powers  had  not  been  as  greatly 
used  in  connection  with  reading  as  they  might  have  been. 
It  is  evident  that  this  boy  had  not  been  taught  reading 
by  the  phonetic  methods  which  at  the  present  time  are 
common.  In  any  case,  no  doubt,  he  would  have  needed 
individual  help  in  order  to  progress  at  a  normal  rate  in 
reading. 

No  physical  trouble  which  could  be  considered  a  factor 
was  found ;  there  were  no  sensory  defects.  The  boy  was 
in  rather  poor  general  condition.  He  had  grown  rapidly 
and  was  somewhat  under  weight  for  his  height.  There  was 
complaint  of  sick  headaches  earlier,  but  not  for  about 
two  years  previous  to  our  seeing  him.  The  intelligent 
mother  could  give  no  facts  concerning  heredity  or  develop- 
mental history  that  were  significant. 

James'  very  good  ability  in  many  ways  had  not  served 
to  make  his  educational  advance  normal.  He  was  at 
least  five  years  retarded  in  school,  for  which  he  had  ac- 
quired a  dislike;  he  had  been  truant  to  a  moderate 
extent,  extremely  disobedient  at  home,  and  had  once 
run  away,  but  returned  the  following  day  of  his  own 
accord.  His  retardation  in  school  had  led  to  friction 
between  the  boy  and  the  parents,  who,  though  they 
were  most  anxious  to  give  him  a  good  education,  had 
shown  themselves  quite  helpless  in  the  matter  of  how 
this  was  to  be  done. 

Case  16.  The  next  problem  presented  is  of  great  in- 
terest, because  the  inability  to  master  reading  is  so  clear 
and  definite,  though  psychological  tests  reveal  little  in 
explanation.  The  various  mental  processes,  each  tested 
separately,  seem  quite  normal.  In  the  light  of  this  fact 
we  are  led  to  wonder  whether  in  reading  there  is  not  in- 
volved some  subtle  synthetic  process,  which,  at  the  pres- 
ent time,  we  have  no  means  of  studying,  but  defects  of 
which,  nevertheless,  are  of  extreme  significance.  This 


SPECIAL   DEFECTS   IN   LANGUAGE  101 

case  is  presented  without  any  pretense  of  solving  the 
problem  definitely.  It  affords  a  striking  commentary  on 
the  limitations  of  our  present  knowledge.  This  does  not 
militate,  however,  against  the  validity  of  finding  special 
defect,  nor  against  appreciation  of  its  practical  impor- 
tance. 

Walter  Z.  is  a  boy  whom  we  have  seen  on  numerous 
occasions,  and  whom  we  have  come  to  know  quite  well. 
When  first  brought  to  the  laboratory  he  was  just  eleven 
years  old,  and  during  the  five  years  that  have  since  elapsed, 
we  have  followed  his  career  with  much  interest.  When 
we  first  knew  Walter,  we  found  that  he  was  unable  to 
read  a  single  word  of  English.  The  parents  were  foreign 
born,  though  the  boy  was  born  in  the  United  States. 
Walter  attended  a  foreign  speaking  school  before  we  knew 
him,  but  soon  after  this  he  was  sent  to  the  Parental  School, 
to  which  truants  are  committed.  There  he  was  kept  for 
nine  months,  and  some  special  attention  was  given  him. 
After  this  long  period  we  found,  on  reexamination,  that 
he  had  learned  absolutely  nothing  in  reading.  He  told 
us,  with  very  evident  sincerity,  how  eager  he  was  to  learn 
to  read.  He  was  conscious  of  his  disability  in  this  direc- 
tion and  had  a  thorough  appreciation  of  the  handicap 
that  it  was.  He  expressed  a  great  desire  to  attend  public 
school  in  order  that  he  might  try  to  make  some  headway 
in  reading.  During  a  later  period  of  a  few  weeks,  when 
we  had  this  boy  under  observation,  an  effort  was  made 
to  teach  him  the  reading  of  very  simple  words,  but  it 
proved  a  failure.  We  found  that  when  the  boy  was 
taught  to  recognize  one  simple  word,  for  example  "not", 
he  was  able  to  identify  this  same  word  whenever  it  occurred 
on  the  page,  but  he  never  succeeded  in  remembering  more 
than  one  or  two  words  at  a  time,  or  in  putting  them  to- 
gether so  that  he  could  read  a  full  sentence.  The  net 
result  of  his  intensive  training  was  the  ability  to  recognize 


102      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

a  few  simple  words.1  In  testing  his  writing  and  spelling, 
we  found  that  he  was  able  to  write  very  well  from  the 
standpoint  of  legibility  and  letter  formation,  but  he  never 
succeeded  in  mastering  spelling.  At  the  age  of  fourteen 
he  could  not  spell  the  word  "one"  or  "school",  and  he 
had  learned  to  write  his  own  name  only  with  the  greatest 
difficulty. 

Because  of  his  inability  to  profit  by  all  the  effort  that 
both  he  and  his  teachers  made,  we  studied  this  boy's 
mental  processes  with  much  care.  He  did  many  things 
exceedingly  well,  among  them  tasks  involving  functions 
which  one  would  believe  very  vital  in  the  reading  process 
itself.  He  has  very  good  visual  powers ;  not  only  is  his 
visual  memory  quite  normal,  but  he  has  a  distinct  gift 
for  drawing,  a  talent  which  he  showed  early.  Although 
he  has  never  had  any  special  instruction,  he  has  always 
shown  great  love  for  this  form  of  art  and  produces  drawings 
which  are  remarkable  for  an  untrained  boy.  His  hand- 
work —  basketry  and  woodwork  —  is  likewise  very  well 
done. 

His  memory  powers  for  logical  material,  presented  in 
either  auditory  or  visual  form,  were  normal  too,  and  audi- 
tory rote  memory  tests  conformed  to  norms  for  his  age. 
Simple  performances  involving  analysis  and  mental  rep- 
resentation were  correctly  solved,  but  when  these  same 
processes  were  required  in  complex  situations,  the  boy 
did  poorly.  Although  he  remembered  readily  and  re- 
combined  nine  arbitrary  symbols,  each  representing  a 
letter,  he  was  unable  to  perform  a  code  test  where  exactly 
the  same  power  is  required,  except  that  there  are  twenty- 
six  symbols  to  recombine. 

Walter  made  a  very  good  record  on  all  construction 

1  Though  at  the  time  we  were  studying  this  case  the  point  did  not 
occur  to  us,  we  have  since  wondered  what  part  recognition  memory 
plays  in  learning  to  read.  An  experimental  investigation  of  this  prob- 
lem might  be  well  worth  while. 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS   IN   LANGUAGE  103 

tests;  he  was  able  to  follow  directions  very  well,  re- 
membering the  various  steps  in  a  fairly  long  process. 
When  last  studied,  we  found  the  boy  still  graded  normal 
by  Binet  tests,  where  he  failed  only  in  giving  definitions 
of  abstract  terms.  He  showed  normal  control  of  verbal 
associations  and  no  difficulty  either  in  comprehension 
or  use  of  language.  We  found  that  he  perceived  and  dis- 
criminated form  readily  and  that  he  could  learn  rapidly  to 
associate  one  arbitrary  symbol  with  another. 

Physically,  although  poorly  developed  for  his  age, 
Walter  was  quite  well  nourished  and  had  no  sensory  defects 
of  any  kind.  Heredity,  so  far  as  we  were  able  to  learn, 
was  negative.  Nor  was  there  anything  of  significance 
in  the  developmental  history.  Environmental  conditions 
were  unsatisfactory,  inasmuch  as  the  father  was  alcoholic, 
and  the  family  poor ;  the  home  offered  little  in  the  way  of 
mental  satisfactions. 

It  does  not  require  much  imagination  to  realize  the 
relationship  between  this  boy's  disabilities  and  his  school 
and  later  career.  At  twelve  years  of  age  he  was  still  in 
the  first  grade.  At  fourteen  years  he  had  been  advanced 
to  the  second  grade  in  an  effort  to  encourage  him,  and  a 
kind  teacher  who  was  interested  in  the  boy  was  making  an 
effort  to  aid  him  by  special  instruction,  but  by  the  ordinary 
school  methods.  His  naturally  good  ability  in  other 
directions  was  being  called  into  play  very  little,  nor  was 
he  receiving  any  instruction  along  those  lines  wherein  he 
might  have  profited  greatly.  From  both  points  of  view 
he  was  severely  handicapped.  .  No  means  were  being 
found  to  help  him  at  the  point  of  his  weakness,  nor  was  he 
being  given  opportunities  to  develop  his  special  talents. 
He  was  not  even  being  taught  a  trade.  He  was  merely 
plodding  along  in  the  ordinary  schoolroom  with  well-inten- 
tioned teachers  who  were  devoting  special  time  to  him, 
but  in  ways  which  offered  little  chance  of  success. 


104      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES   AND   DISABILITIES 

No  doubt  it  would  require  much  ingenuity  to  devise 
special  methods  for  training  this  lad  in  reading  and  spell- 
ing, but  from  such  an  effort  more  knowledge  of  experi- 
mental pedagogy  might  be  acquired,  it  would  seem,  than 
can  be  gained  from  many  courses  offered  in  universities. 
To  allow  the  boy  to  progress  as  rapidly  as  he  might  in 
other  subjects  would  necessitate  a  more  flexible  school  sys- 
tem than  we  now  have,  but  no  case  could  present  a  clearer 
illustration  of  the  need  for  just  this  kind  of  flexibility. 

The  dire  social  effects  of  an  irrational  and  clumsy  school 
system  could  hardly  be  found  more  clearly  illustrated  than 
in  this  case.  Walter  was  first  brought  into  court  for  run- 
ning away  from  home  and  for  truancy.  A  short  time  later 
he  was  sent  to  the  Parental  School ;  after  his  release  from 
there,  the  boy  was  further  truant,  and  was  brought  into 
court  when  he  was  found  begging  on  the  streets.  From 
the  boy's  own  account,  he  was  virtually  driven  to  this 
because  he  could  not  earn  a  livelihood  in  any  legitimate 
way.  When  a  little  over  fourteen  he  left  school,  utterly 
unprepared  to  meet  the  world  or  to  find  his  place  in 
our  economic  system.  He  had  no  trade  training.  His 
talent  for  drawing  had  not  been  developed.  He  could 
perhaps  have  been  an  errand  boy  had  his  inability  to  read 
not  practically  precluded  this.  His  family  was  poor,  his 
father  out  of  work,  and  the  children  hungry,  and  with  a 
really  fine  spirit  the  boy  turned  to  begging,  as  the  only 
means  of  contributing  to  the  family  support  that  he  could 
think  of.  When  last  we  heard  of  him,  he  was  earn- 
ing a  small  amount  by  scrubbing  floors  and  dusting  in  a 
factory  where  there  was  little  likelihood  of  his  advancing 
to  any  more  lucrative  form  of  employment.  Walter  has 
been  a  victim  of  his  own  innate  defects,  but  also  of  society's 
methods  of  dealing  with  some  of  its  hampered  members. 

Case  17.  In  order  to  emphasize  the  problem  presented 
in  the  previous  illustration,  another  instance  is  cited,  very 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN   LANGUAGE  105 

similar  in  general  characteristics,  but  where  the  details 
vary  somewhat.  Here,  again,  a  boy  is  hampered  with 
special  disability  in  reading  most  difficult  to  account  for 
on  the  basis  of  such  tests  as  seem  to  have  a  relationship  to 
the  factors  in  reading. 

Harold  N.,  eleven  years  old,  we  learned  to  know  quite 
well  through  his  having  remained  for  a  long  period  await- 
ing adjustment  of  difficult  family  conditions.  We  were 
asked  to  see  this  boy  because  he  was  found  to  be  exceed- 
ingly retarded  in  school.  He  has  been  repeatedly  studied 
at  intervals  during  two  years. 

He  is  a  big,  strong,  well  nourished  lad,  very  pleasant, 
responsive,  and  eager  to  cooperate.  He  has  never  been  a 
delinquent  and  now  presents  only,  as  far  as  we  are  con- 
cerned, an  exceedingly  interesting  educational  problem. 
Later  the  vocational  aspects  of  his  case  will  have  to  be 
considered.  He  makes  a  very  favorable  impression  upon 
one;  he  talks  well;  is  fairly  well  informed,  considering 
his  age  and  advantages;  evidently  remembers  what  he 
hears  and  sees;  is  anxious  to  acquire  an  education,  and 
shows  in  general  a  very  normal,  boyish  attitude  toward 
the  world. 

In  spite  of  this,  Harold  has  been  an  out-and-out  school 
failure.  When  originally  seen  he  could  not  read  a  first- 
grade  passage.  He  recognized  only  a  few  very  simple 
words,  such  as  "am"  and  "boy."  As  for  writing  words 
from  dictation,  we  soon  discovered  the  boy  became  greatly 
confused,  though  he  made  every  effort  to  succeed.  He 
volunteered  to  write  "man",  making  it  "nam",  and  the 
word  "and",  writing  it  "anj",  but  he  wrote  correctly  the 
words  "run"  and  "can."  These  four  words  composed  his 
entire  writing  vocabulary,  and  these  had  been  acquired, 
as  he  himself  acknowledged,  because  his  teacher  had  made 
him  write  them  hundreds  of  times.  A  few  days  later  the 
alphabet  was  written  for  him,  and  he  was  asked  to  write 


106      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

certain  words  that  were  spelled  out  to  him,  his  task  being 
to  find  the  individual  letters  in  the  alphabet  and  to  copy 
them.  He  wrote  "  1 "  for  "  t "  and  "  j "  for  "  y ."  (As  will 
be  seen  later,  this  boy  had  no  visual  difficulties.)  He 
read  figures  correctly. 

Seen  six  months  later,  having  attended  school  during 
the  intervening  period,  he  still  was  unable  to  read  a  first- 
grade  passage.  He  made  such  errors  as  the  following : 
he  called  the  word  "in"  "with";  confused  the  words 
"am"  and  "can."  At  that  tune  he  could  not  write 
any  sentence,  either  from  dictation  or  of  his  own  inven- 
tion. He  could  write  just  four  words  besides  his  name. 
A  month  later,  during  which  tune  intensive  individual 
help  was  given  him,  he  did  no  better  than  before; 
indeed,  he  confused  words  which  were  being  taught  him 
with  the  few  words  that  he  had  previously  known.  It 
should  be  added,  however,  that  while  given  individual 
instruction  by  a  very  conscientious  teacher,  no  specially 
adapted  method  was  used.  An  effort  was  made  to  teach 
him  by  the  usual  means  employed  in  teaching  children 
who  have  no  special  disability. 

For  number  work,  we  are  not  sure  that  there  was  any 
innate  defect.  Because  of  his  having  remained  so  long 
in  the  first  grade  he  had  had  very  little  training  in  this 
direction,  but  concrete  problems  he  did  quite  well; 
he  added  simple  number  combinations,  added  money 
correctly,  solved  very  simple  problems,  such  as,  If  nine 
apples  are  divided  among  three  children,  how  many 
would  each  receive?  But  he  could  not  tell  abstractly 
one  third  of  nine.  We  judged,  on  the  basis  of  our  test 
work,  that  Harold  could  learn  numbers  fairly  readily  if 
he  had  the  opportunity  of  doing  so.  It  is  clear  that  his 
number  ability,  at  least,  is  very  far  ahead  of  his  reading 
ability. 

This  boy  did  exceedingly  well  on  tests  for  general  in- 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS   IN   LANGUAGE  107 

telligence,  such  as  the  Binet  tests.  Here  he  graded  above 
his  age.  He  did  the  Binet  test  for  visual  memory  very 
well;  very  quickly  detected  the  Binet  language  incon- 
gruities and  gave  shrewd  and  relevant  answers  in  the 
Binet  common-sense  tests.  We  found  normal  powers  of 
apperception,  both  through  special  testing  and  judging 
by  his  conversation.  He  also  demonstrated  normal  con- 
trol of  verbal  associations  and  also  normal  ability 
to  form  such  new7  associations  as  are  required  hi  the  arbi- 
trary learning  test. 

Harold  proved  on  construction  tests  to  be  a  rather 
thoughtful,  deliberate  boy,  solving  problems  of  this 
sort  in  a  logical  manner,  with  some  trial  and  error,  and 
profiting  very  quickly  by  his  own  experience.  He  did  not 
repeat  his  errors  and  having  once  reached  a  solution,  he 
remembered  it  and  was  able  to  solve  the  same  problem  on 
second  trial  with  a  very  great  gain  in  speed  and  accuracy. 
His  powers  of  analysis  and  mental  representation,  as 
judged  by  our  usual  tests,  were  quite  good.  As  for 
memory  tests,  we  found  immediate  memory  to  be  very 
good ;  memory  span  for  rote  material  was  just  about  what 
is  expected  at  his  age,  neither  better  nor  worse ;  memory 
for  logical  material  read  to  him  was  not  particularly 
good  —  he  gave  seven  items  out  of  a  possible  twelve ; 
remote  memory  for  this  type  of  material  was  almost  as 
good  as  immediate,  for  after  forty-eight  hours  he  repro- 
duced six  of  the  twelve  items.  It  should  be  added  that 
these  represented  the  main  ideas  of  the  passage.  On  the 
Aussage,  or  testimony  test,  he  gave  a  full  coherent  account, 
showing  good  and  rapid  perceptions,  good  powers  of  inter- 
pretation, and  good  memory.  This  last  was  further 
shown  when,  one  year  later,  without  having  seen  the 
picture  again,  he  gave  a  detailed,  accurate  description. 

He  had  great  skill  in  handwork,  showing  more  than 
average  ability  in  this  direction;  his  eye  for  line  and 


108      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

measurement  was  accurate,  and  he  evidenced  quite  a 
little  artistic  feeling  for  form.  His  manual  training  teacher 
considered  him  exceedingly  capable  in  this  work,  saying 
the  boy  showed  initiative  and  ability  to  plan.  His  success 
in  this  work  and  on  tests  indicated  that  powers  of  per- 
ception were  in  these  fields  unusually  good. 

What  can  we  find  peculiar  in  the  mental  processes  to 
account  for  the  boy's  inability  to  learn  to  spell  and  to 
read?  Studied  separately,  there  is  no  difficulty  or 
peculiarity  or  lack  of  functioning  of  any  of  the  mental 
processes  tested.  Visual  and  auditory  powers  seem 
normal ;  in  memory  tests  he  reaches  the  norm  for  his  age ; 
association  tests  give  no  evidence  of  irregularity ;  there 
is  no  defect  for  language.  Here  again,  as  in  the  preceding 
case,  one  would  like  to  know  more  about  the  general  facts 
of  recognition  memory  as  involved  in  the  reading  process. 

Nor  was  there  any  other  explanation  found.  The  boy 
has  always  been  strong.  He  has  been  examined  by  various 
specialists,  and  the  physical  conditions  can  be  ruled  out 
as  being  negative.  We  know  the  heredity  and  family 
history  quite  well  in  this  case,  and  though  there  is  much  of 
interest,  there  is  nothing  that  is  directly  significant 
in  relation  to  the  boy's  disability.  In  spite  of  poor  home 
conditions,  Harold  has  attended  school  regularly  and  has 
had  the  same  educational  advantages  that  fall  to  the  lot 
of  most  city  boys. 

Harold  is  still  too  young  for  us  to  appreciate  all  the 
social  consequences  that  may  arise  as  a  result  of  his  dis- 
abilities. He  has  as  yet  shown  no  delinquent  tendencies, 
and  placed  on  a  farm  where  his  defects  are  not  strikingly 
apparent,  he  has  been  happy  and  has  gotten  along  very 
well.  His  particular  handicaps  should  be  remembered, 
however,  in  all  future  efforts  in  his  behalf. 

Case  18.  To  show  how  impossible  it  is  to  analyze  and 
explain  reading  defect  if  insufficient  study  is  given,  we 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN   LANGUAGE  109 

cite  the  following  instance  in  which  the  problem  as 
presented  to  us  was  merely  to  determine  whether  the 
individual  was  normal  mentally  or  feeble-minded.  Un- 
like the  previous  illustrations,  we  have  here  insufficient 
data  for  ruling  out  the  several  possible  explanatory  factors. 

Richard  T.,  16^  years  old,  had  only  reached  the  fourth 
grade  of  the  public  school  when  he  left  at  fourteen  years. 
He  was  considered  a  school  failure,  and  because  of  this  a 
number  of  people  regarded  him  as  being  subnormal. 

When  he  was  tested  for  mentality,  we  wondered  why 
he  should  be  accounted  so  dull,  for  he  did  many  things 
very  well.  We  soon  saw  that  the  boy  had  a  special  dis- 
ability for  reading.  He  did  performance  tests  normally, 
made  a  good  record  on  tests  for  mental  representation  and 
analysis,  had  a  normal  record  on  tests  for  apperception, 
and  while  he  had  not  had  training  in  arithmetic  above  the 
fourth  grade,  he  could  add,  subtract,  and  multiply.  He 
had  no  difficulty  in  handling  money  or  in  solving  simple 
problems  involving  money.  On  the  other  hand,  his  read- 
ing was  exceedingly  poor.  He  failed  on  all  but  the  sim- 
plest words,  and  even  these  were  read  in  a  very  hesitating 
manner,  with  much  uncertainty.  He  himself  told  us  that 
he  had  always  had  a  great  deal  of  trouble  in  school  on 
account  of  his  reading.  From  the  results  on  tests  given 
him,  we  were  sure  that  the  boy  could  not  be  regarded  as 
anything  other  than  normal  in  general  ability,  but  we 
were  unable  to  study  his  mental  processes  in  sufficient 
detail  to  find  out  the  explanation  of  his  disability,  though 
the  fact  that  it  existed  was  quite  clear. 

He  was  an  extreme  delinquent,  having  been  in  court 
numerous  tunes  for  truancy,  for  stealing,  and  for  not 
working.  He  was  American  born,  but  of  foreign  parent- 
age. The  family  wras  poor ;  he  was  the  only  one  of  six 
children  who  had  caused  any  trouble ;  all  of  the  others  had 
good  school  records ;  a  sister  of  twelve  was  in  the  seventh 


110      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

grade.  The  father  was  said  to  have  had  fair  intelligence 
and  some  education.  The  mother  seemed  on  the  whole 
quite  dull,  but  she  had  had  very  poor  educational  oppor- 
tunities. 

How  large  a  factor  his  special  defect  was  in  his  delin- 
quency we  cannot  say  with  surety,  but,  beyond  doubt,  it 
played  quite  a  part;  indeed,  we  are  inclined  to  believe 
that  it  was  a  matter  of  very  great  consequence,  since  he 
early  became  a  truant.  School  offered  him  no  satis- 
factions, and  when  he  left,  at  fourteen,  he  had  little  prep- 
aration for  any  particular  vocation.  We  know  that  he 
had  positions  requiring  practically  no  skill ;  for  a  time  he 
worked  with  a  peddler.  The  father  had  died  when  the 
boy  was  about  fourteen,  and  there  was  poverty  and  poor 
parental  control,  and  very  little  in  the  way  of  home  in- 
terests. Had  the  boy  been  trained  for  some  vocation 
which  interested  him  it  is  quite  conceivable  that  his  whole 
career  might  have  been  very  different. 

Case  19.  The  following  case  illustrates  defects  in 
general  language  ability  and  the  serious  consequences  that 
arise  therefrom. 

Thomas  S.,  15  years  old,  was  in  a  room  for  subnormal 
children  when  we  first  knew  him  and  had  been  held  there 
for  the  past  several  years.  He  was  tested  on  two  different 
occasions,  because  when  first  seen  he  was  apprehensive, 
ill  at  ease,  and  hence  unable  to  do  his  best.  Taking  into 
consideration  the  boy's  attitude  and  judging  him  by  his 
best  efforts,  we  found  he  did  fairly  well  on  tests  for  general 
ability.  He  himself  told  us,  and  testing  corroborated  it, 
that  he  was  held  in  the  subnormal  room  because  of  his 
inability  to  progress  in  reading.  He  could  read  only  the 
most  familiar  monosyllables,  he  failed  on  all  longer  words 
and  even  on  short  ones  when  they  were  in  the  least  un- 
familiar. Nor  was  his  achievement  in  writing  much 
better.  He  wrote  legibly,  but  could  spell  only  very  few 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN   LANGUAGE  111 

words.  He  could  add,  subtract,  and  multiply,  not  a  poor 
record  considering  that  his  opportunities  for  acquiring 
knowledge  in  arithmetic  had  been  extremely  limited. 

On  performance  tests  the  boy  did  very  well.  All 
construction  tests  were  solved  correctly ;  good  powers  of 
motor  control  were  shown ;  he  succeeded  where  analysis 
and  mental  representation  were  demanded ;  he  made  a 
perfect  record  on  the  substitution  learning  test ;  and  suc- 
ceeded very  well  on  tests  for  memory,  so  far  as  repetition 
of  ideas  was  concerned.  The  notable  feature  here  was  the 
fact  that  although  he  could  give  a  good  reproduction  of 
the  thought  of  the  passage  read  to  him,  yet  his  power  of 
expressing  the  ideas  was  decidedly  limited. 

It  was  in  the  field  of  language  that  this  boy's  special 
disability  lay.  He  could  not  express  himself  writh  force  or 
accuracy ;  his  choice  of  English  was  poor,  even  considering 
his  home  disadvantages.  His  parents  were  German,  and 
their  native  language  was  spoken  in  the  home.  That  the 
boy  did  not  speak  grammatically  was  perhaps  not  of  any 
significance,  but  much  more  striking  was  it  that  he  could 
not  write,  speak,  or  read  German  any  better  than  English. 

When  the  tests  were  analyzed,  it  was  seen  that  this  boy 
had  normal  powers  of  perception,  both  for  form  and  rela- 
tionships of  form ;  he  reasoned  quite  well,  at  least  in  regard 
to  situations  presented  concretely;  apperceptions  and 
memory  were  normal.  On  the  other  hand,  the  opposites 
test,  which  involves  control  of  association  of  words,  was 
performed  very  poorly  and  corroborated  the  findings  in 
regard  to  other  language  factors.  Thus,  it  can  be  seen 
that  inability  to  learn  to  read  was  due,  very  likely,  to  a 
defect  for  language  in  general.  No  defect  in  visual  or 
auditory  fields  was  shown,  nor  in  powers  of  forming  new 
associations,  that  is,  in  actual  learning  capacity. 

Physical  factors  could  be  ruled  out,  since  examination 
showed  the  boy  to  be  unusually  strong  for  his  age,  with 


112      PSYCHOLOGY   OF   ABILITIES   AND   DISABILITIES 

no  sensory  defects.  Heredity  and  developmental  condi- 
tions were  likewise  negative.  Because  of  his  one  disability, 
regardless  of  what  he  could  do  in  other  tasks,  the  boy 
had  been  kept  in  the  subnormal  room.  He  himself  said, 
"  When  I  was  in  that  room  I  could  never  get  out  and  get 
pushed  up.  I  know  my  numbers,  and  everything,  ex- 
cepting reading.  Everything  I  did  in  woodwork  was  good, 
I  made  baskets  and  everything,  but  because  I  could  not 
read  I  was  kept  down  with  the  dippy  ones."  In  spite  of 
having  been  regarded  by  the  school  authorities  as  a  mental 
defective,  we  could  not  so  classify  him  in  the  light  of 
results  on  tests,  nor,  indeed,  according  to  his  social  re- 
actions. 

We  note  that  when  he  left  school  shortly  after  our  study 
of  him,  he  was  quite  successful  vocationally.  Fortunately, 
his  work  was  of  such  a  character  that  his  disability  did  not 
handicap  him;  he  became  a  good  wage  earner,  and  so 
far  as  we  know  now,  five  years  after  our  first  knowledge 
of  this  boy,  he  has  never  again  been  delinquent  in  any  way. 

One  interesting  feature  was  found  when  the  boy  came  to 
visit  us,  after  having  left  school  for  several  months.  He 
had  endeavored  by  himself  to  make  some  headway  in 
reading  and  spelling,  with  greater  success  than  had  been 
accomplished  in  the  school.  It  is  true  his  achievement 
was  very  limited,  he  could  not  read  all  the  words  of  a  first- 
grade  passage,  but  he  said  that  by  dint  of  much  persever- 
ance he  had  added  some  few  words  to  his  reading  vocabu- 
lary. Certain  it  is  that  the  school  had  been  an  utter 
failure  in  discovering  the  defect  which  was  the  basis  of 
his  lack  of  progress,  and  his  own  clumsy  efforts  were  suc- 
ceeding quite  as  well,  if  not  better,  than  the  methods  used 
in  school. 

Case  20.  Another  example  of  general  language  dis- 
ability is  here  presented. 

Rupert  N.,  sixteen  years  when  first  seen,  was  found  at 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN   LANGUAGE  113 

once  to  be  most  peculiar.  He  was  a  great  problem  from 
the  standpoint  of  conduct  when  we  first  became  acquainted 
with  him,  and  previously  he  had  been  an  educational 
problem  as  well.  Every  one  who  came  in  contact  with 
the  boy  felt  him  to  be  a  peculiar,  dull,  loutish  fellow.  He 
made  the  most  unfavorable  impression,  even  in  the  court- 
room, because  of  his  slouchiness  and  his  confused  and 
almost  incoherent  statements. 

We  soon  found  that  very  little  reliance  could  be  put 
upon  any  statements  made  by  the  boy  himself.  He  was 
contradictory  in  what  he  said,  and  at  all  times  seemed  un- 
able to  give  a  clear  and  cogent  story,  even  of  his  own 
actions.  Both  with  us  and  at  court  his  statements  varied 
from  day  to  day  and  from  one  hour  to  the  next.  He 
said  that  though  he  had  gone  to  school  for  eight  years, 
he  did  not  learn  much  because  his  teachers  were  "no 
good",  and  only  one  of  them  ever  taught  him  any- 
thing. 

We  have  studied  this  boy  over  quite  a  long  period  of 
time  in  an  effort  to  learn  just  what  his  native  ability  is. 
Mentally  we  have  found  him  most  peculiar,  and  after 
frequent  examinations  we  have  concluded  that  he  is  a 
border  line  type.  He  cannot  be  regarded  simply  as 
out-and-out  feeble-minded,  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  can 
we  regard  him  as  altogether  normal  mentally.  A  number 
of  things  he  does  very  wrell,  but  his  disabilities  are  equally 
as  apparent.  His  reactions,  on  the  whole,  are  rather 
slow,  except  when  working  with  concrete  material. 

In  regard  to  his  failures,  the  striking  defect  in  several 
aspects  of  language  ability  was  soon  noted.  We  were 
impressed  over  and  over  again  with  the  fact  that  words 
seemed  to  have  no  significance  to  this  boy.  He  had  the 
greatest  trouble  in  expressing  himself,  nor  could  he  control 
his  verbal  associations  on  tests  requiring  these.  He  made 
eight  errors  in  giving  the  opposites  to  twenty  simple 


114      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

words,  a  record  that  is  extremely  poor.  Even  when  the 
correct  reply  was  made,  it  required  a  very  much  longer 
time  to  think  of  the  word  than  is  normal.  It  was  evidently 
language  that  had  retarded  this  boy  in  school  work,  for 
his  ability  in  arithmetic  was  far  beyond  that  in  spelling 
and  reading.  He  knew  all  the  fundamental  processes, 
although  he  was  not  altogether  accurate  in  the  use  of 
them,  his  mistakes  being  matters  of  carelessness.  He  was 
unable  to  write  a  simple  sentence  from  dictation,  and 
when  he  himself  wished  to  write  an  account  of  his  school- 
ing, the  result  was  ludicrous.  Even  very  simple  words 
were  misspelled,  as  is  shown  in  the  following :  "  I  neear 
wast  ene  plaes  atsed  in  Chicago."  (I  never  went  any 
place  outside  of  Chicago.) 

On  certain  tests  he  did  very  much  better,  attaining 
records  that  were  normal  or  very  nearly  so.  Tests  with 
concrete  material  he  did  very  well,  even  those  involving 
quite  a  little  reasoning.  His  perception  of  relationships 
of  form  seemed  quite  normal;  indeed,  his  records  are 
rather  above  the  average.  Then,  too,  he  seemed  to  have 
extremely  good  powers  of  visualizing ;  wherever  this  could 
be  called  into  play,  the  test  results  were  excellent.  This 
was  a  notable  factor  which  aided  his  performing  correctly 
several  01  the  more  difficult  tests.  His  results  on  tests 
for  apperception,  where  these  dealt  with  material  pre- 
sented in  pictorial  form,  were  normal ;  a  result  in  contra- 
diction to  his  social  apperceptions,  as  shown  by  his  con- 
versation and  behavior.  Tests  for  mental  control  were 
not  easy  for  him ;  he  had  much  difficulty  in  keeping  his 
mind  on  the  task  at  hand,  and  his  reactions  here  were 
very  slow.  As  graded  for  intelligence  by  the  Binet  scale, 
he  lacked  one  point  of  completing  the  twelve-year  series. 
The  interesting  feature  here  was  the  fact  that  on  first 
trial  he  failed  on  many  of  the  tests  which  involved  the 
use  of  language.  He  had  much  difficulty  in  incorporating 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS   IN   LANGUAGE  115 

words  into  a  sentence  or  in  rearranging  words  to  form  a 
sentence.  In  the  latter  task  he  never  succeeded. 

Analyzing  the  successes  and  failures,  we  find  he  had 
great  difficulty  in  all  work  that  deals  with  language ;  how 
much  allowance  should  be  made  for  this  in  evaluating  the 
final  score  on  the  Binet  scale  is  practically  quite  important 
if  one  uses  this  as  the  criterion  for  mental  classification. 
Even  more  important,  practically,  is  the  influence  of  this 
special  defect  on  school  attainment,  for  no  doubt  without 
recognition  of  such  a  weakness,  much  school  work  is  so 
poorly  performed  that  the  pupil  becomes  greatly  retarded. 
More  important  still  is  the  effect  of  such  a  handicap  in 
vocational  and  social  life.  While  certain  occupations  do 
not  require  the  use  of  language,  yet  the  inability  to  express 
oneself  in  regard  to  activities  that  deal  with  the  most  con- 
crete material  gives  an  impression  of  extreme  stupidity 
and  mental  dullness.  Perhaps,  too,  it  impairs  the  ability 
of  the  individual  himself  to  apperceive  his  relations  to 
the  world,  if  he  is  unable  to  express  even  to  himself  general 
principles.  In  the  case  of  this  boy  there  were,  of  course, 
other  points  to  be  considered  before  concluding  that  a 
special  defect  for  language  existed. 

His  parents  were  foreign  born,  and  though  a  foreign 
language  was  spoken  in  the  home  at  tunes,  yet  both  the 
mother  and  father  spoke  English  fairly  well.  The  boy 
himself  was  born  in  this  country  and  had  always  attended 
English-speaking  schools.  A  brother,  several  years  older, 
had  progressed  satisfactorily  in  school,  entering  the  minis- 
try later.  From  the  parents'  account  of  conditions,  we 
found  that  heredity  as  well  as  the  developmental  history 
was  negative.  When  Rupert  was  five  years  old  he  met 
with  an  accident  in  which  his  head  was  hurt,  but  he  was 
not  known  to  be  badly  injured  and  was  not  unconscious. 
No  other  point  of  significance  was  learned.  The  father, 
who  seemed  to  be  a  thoroughly  good,  hard-working  man, 


116      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

not  well  educated,  but  fairly  intelligent,  told  us  that  this 
boy  had  always  been  a  lazy  fellow,  never  fond  of  school, 
and  had  had  difficulty  in  learning,  particularly  reading. 

Physical  examination  showed  Rupert  to  be  a  large, 
strong  lad,  in  very  good  general  condition.  Except  for 
a  rather  dull  expression,  nothing  of  any  significance  was 
noted. 

Some  element  of  mental  dullness  was  due,  no  doubt,  to 
indulgence  in  masturbation,  which  the  boy  acknowledged, 
and  this,  of  course,  may  have  accounted  for  the  slowness  of 
mental  reactions. 

Naturally,  at  our  institute,  the  question  of  a  psychosis 
in  this  case  has  been  considered  over  and  over  again. 
Dementia  has  been  pretty  surely  ruled  out  because  of  the 
boy's  good  control  of  his  mental  processes  in  some  respects 
at  all  times.  Then  he  has  shown  definite  improvement  on 
several  types  of  tests  when  reexamined  at  a  considerable 
interval.  He  did  better  on  Binet  tests,  on  continuous 
subtraction,  and  on  the  association  test  for  opposites, 
where  a  better  score  was  made  for  time  and  accuracy. 

His  delinquencies,  which  consisted  of  running  away  from 
home,  long  periods  of  idleness,  during  which  he  has 
loafed  about  and  become  involved  in  stealing  and  bur- 
glary, may  be  partly  explained  by  his  laziness  due  to  bad 
sex  habits,  possibly  by  the  influence  of  adolescence,  and 
by  bad  companionship,  the  latter  factor  accentuated  by 
the  lad's  social  suggestibility.  Aside  from  all  these  forces, 
however,  the  boy  presents  a  problem  difficult  to  adjust 
because  of  his  peculiar  mental  make-up  which  cannot  be 
altogether  disregarded  in  any  constructive  efforts  under- 
taken in  his  behalf.  That  he  has  special  abilities  in  work- 
ing with  concrete  material  and  in  visual  powers,  that  he 
has,  likewise,  quite  a  specialized  disability,  as  shown  in  all 
tasks  requiring  the  use  of  language,  is  of  practical  signifi- 
cance in  determining  his  future,  just  as  it  has  been  an 


SPECIAL   DEFECTS   IN   LANGUAGE  117 

element  in  the  causations  that  explain  his  past  failures, 
educationally  and  vocationally.  Since  he  has  had  the 
usual  opportunities  for  acquiring  an  ordinary  vocabulary 
and  for  using  it,  and  yet  has  not  succeeded  in  so  doing, 
we  are  led  to  conclude  that  there  is  an  innate  defect  of  a 
highly  specialized  nature. 


CHAPTER  VII 
SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN  SEPARATE  MENTAL  PROCESSES 

SOMETIMES  one  finds  in  the  course  of  a  psychological 
examination  certain  defects  of  some  one  or  more  of  the 
mental  processes  which,  though  having  an  important 
influence  on  achievement,  are  not  correlated  with  learn- 
ing the  school  subjects  which  have  already  been  discussed. 
Their  existence  and  relationship  to  the  school  and  social 
career  may  be  unsuspected  because,  unlike  instances  of 
reading  or  language  defect,  no  incapacity  for  some  one 
kind  of  learning  is  found.  Rather,  there  may  be  some 
general  disability  in  mental  functioning  which  affects  all 
work,  making  the  individual  unusual  in  his  reactions. 
Such  defects  in  mental  processes  are  often  the  explana- 
tion of  failures  that  seem  inexplicable.  Hence,  it  is  of 
very  great  value  to  discover  defects  of  this  character  and 
to  determine  their  practical  significance. 

Following  are  presented  some  types  of  defective  func- 
tioning of  mental  processes  which,  experience  has  shown, 
have  important  bearings. 

DEFECTS  OF  MEMORY 

Memory  is  a  function  that  presents  varied  phases,  all 
of  which  might  be  discussed,  for  defect  may  possibly  be 
found  in  any  one  and  not  exist  in  others.  The  term 
memory  is  used  in  everyday  speech  with  different  mean- 
ings; and  experimental  psychology  has  investigated 

118 


SPECIAL   DEFECTS   IN   MENTAL   PROCESSES        119 

quite  a  number  of  problems  dealing  with  this  mental 
process.  There  are  studies  of  recall  and  of  recognition; 
of  immediate  and  remote  memory ;  of  memory  for  differ- 
ent kinds  of  material,  for  sense  perceptions,  symbols, 
products  of  ideational  processes,  and  for  emotions.  There 
are  studies,  too,  of  memory  for  logical  and  for  rote  ma- 
terial ;  for  visual,  auditory,  or  motor  percepts. 

The  relationships  of  these  aspects  of  memory  to  each 
other  and  applications  to  complex  activities  are  not  al- 
together known.  It  has  already  been  stated  in  a  previous 
chapter  that  experimentation  directed  towards  determin- 
ing the  degree  of  correlation  that  exists  between  different 
phases  of  memory  has  led  to  the  general  conclusion  that 
there  is  a  positive  relationship  of  quite  high  degree.  But 
such  studies  deal  with  very  highly  specialized  processes; 
for  example,  the  correlation  between  memory  for  words 
and  memory  for  numbers,  or  between  memory  after  one 
minute  and  memory  after  one  hour. 

Very  many  practically  important  laws  of  memory 
have  not  yet  been  determined ;  those  most  firmly  es- 
tablished concern  themselves  mainly  with  nonsense  or 
other  types  of  material  quite  unlike  the  activities  of 
everyday  life.  To  what  extent  these  laws  obtain  in 
applied  fields  we  do  not  know.  In  a  common-sense 
way,  we  are  aware,  of  course,  that  in  practical  affairs 
both  immediate  and  remote  memory  are  essential,  that 
we  need  to  remember  what  we  see  and  what  we  hear, 
that  to  remember  ideas  is  probably  more  useful,  in  general, 
than  to  have  a  good  memory  for  rote  material,  but  that 
a  defect  for  the  latter  may  be-  of  great  significance  in 
some  kinds  of  school  work,  as  well  as  in  certain  occupations. 

It  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  give  illustrative  cases  of 
peculiarities  or  defects  in  all  these  aspects  of  memory; 
in  preceding  case-histories  many  of  them  have  been 
mentioned,  and  further  mention  will  be  made  in  case- 


120      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

histories  that  follow.  It  has  been  shown  that  some 
individuals  have  defects  for  auditory  presentations; 
others  for  visual.  It  is  true  that  persons  of  good  in- 
telligence frequently  are  not  hampered  by  a  defect  for 
one  or  more  types  of  memory;  indeed,  they  may  even 
be  unaware  that  it  exists,  for  defect  in  one  field  often  is 
compensated  by  substitution  in  another  field.  Little  is 
known  as  yet  of  the  relationship  of  some  phases  of  mem- 
ory to  learning  school  subjects,  and  especially  it  might 
be  of  great  interest  and  value  to  study  the  role  of  recogni- 
tion memory  in  reading. 

To  illustrate  how  widely  ability  in  memory  may  vary 
in  one  field,  two  cases  are  cited,  one  of  great  disability  and 
one  of  unusual  ability  in  auditory  rote  memory. 

Case  21.  Henry  J.,  16  years  old,  was  seen  after  he 
had  been  in  court  on  several  occasions.  The  mental 
examination  proved  interesting  because  it  showed  that 
the  boy  was  quite  intelligent  and  in  general  capable, 
but  had  a  very  specialized  defect.  The  striking  feature 
of  all  the  test  work  with  this  boy  was  the  finding  that 
he  was  far  below  normal  for  his  age  in  the  matter  of 
rote  memory.  When  a  series  of  numerals  was  presented 
to  him  auditorily  he  could  not  remember  more  than  four. 
A  memory  span  for  five  numerals  is  expected  of  normal 
eight-year-old  children,  but  this  boy  failed  to  reach  this 
standard,  though  given  numerous  trials.  His  memory 
span  for  numerals  presented  visually  was  not  much 
better.  He  succeeded  here  with  five.  Memory  span 
for  syllables  was  likewise  poor ;  the  best  record  he  was 
able  to  make  was  repetition  of  fourteen  syllables.  On 
the  other  hand,  where  ideas  were  to  be  recalled,  that  is, 
where  memory  tests  dealt  with  logical  material,  the 
results  were  good.  A  passage  presented  auditorily  and 
containing  twelve  items  was  reproduced  with  the  omission 
of  only  one,  and  with  fair  verbal  accuracy.  The  result 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN   MENTAL  PROCESSES        121 

on  a  logical  passage  which  he  himself  read  was  not  so 
good ;  he  gave  fifteen  out  of  twenty  ideas,  though  it 
should  be  added  that  his  version  included  the  principal 
ideas. 

In  many  ways  he  showed  more  ability  than  the  average 
boy  of  his  nationality  and  social  status.  He  was  foreign 
born,  but  had  come  to  this  country  when  a  very  small 
child.  The  native  language  was  spoken  in  the  home 
and  likewise  in  the  school  which  the  boy  had  attended 
during  the  greater  part  of  his  school  career.  He  spoke 
English  well,  showed  very  good  apperceptions  in  regard 
to  his  owrn  home  situation  and  his  relationship  to  it, 
and  did  a  number  of  mental  tests  very  well.  In  spite 
of  what  one  often  finds  in  such  cases,  namely  too  little 
familiarity  with  English  to  do  well  on  Binet  tests  where 
language  is  so  largely  involved,  Henry  passed  well  all 
the  tests  for  ten  years  and  all  for  twelve  years,  except 
the  definition  of  abstract  terms.  Construction  tests 
were  very  well  solved  and  so  were  those  involving  analysis 
and  mental  representation.  Association  processes  deal- 
ing with  words  were  normal.  School  work  was  done 
sufficiently  well  to  feel  that  no  especial  peculiarity  or 
difficulty  in  regard  to  this  existed. 

We  find  here,  then,  a  boy  who  shows  by  his  general 
reactions  and  the  results  on  many  tests  that  he  is  quite 
capable,  but  who,  nevertheless,  has  an  astonishingly 
grave  defect  in  certain  of  the  memory  processes.  That 
this  had  not  interfered  more  with  his  progress  in  school 
and  his  acquisitions  on  the  basis  of  general  world  ex- 
perience, is  possibly  due  to  the  type  of  the  disability 
and  possibly  to  compensation.  Nevertheless,  in  certain 
practical  ways  it  might  interfere  with  his  vocational 
pursuits.  Thus,  in  an  effort  to  show  the  practical  sig- 
nificance of  his  defect,  we  asked  the  boy  to  find  in  the 
telephone  directory  two  telephone  numbers,  representing 


122      PSYCHOLOGY  OP  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

the  different  departments  in  the  same  firm,  or  the  busi- 
ness and  residence  telephone  numbers  of  some  individual, 
and  then  after  giving  him  a  fair  amount  of  time  in  which 
to  learn  them  he  was  asked  to  repeat  them.  Although 
he  tried  very  hard  in  this,  he  never  succeeded  in  any  one 
of  a  number  of  trials.  Such  a  difficulty  as  this  would 
preclude  the  possibility  of  success  in  office  work,  or, 
indeed,  for  any  occupation  where  rote  memory  had  to 
be  depended  upon. 

His  delinquency,  staying  away  from  home,  was  largely 
accounted  for  by  home  conditions,  which  were  so  wretched 
as  to  offer  little  that  would  satisfy  any  normal  boy.  The 
father  was  a  very  abusive  and  ill-tempered  man. 

Physically  Henry  was  quite  poorly  developed  for  his 
age.  He  was  small  and  not  well  nourished,  but  he  was 
a  bright-eyed,  healthy  looking  boy,  nevertheless.  There 
were  no  sensory  defects,  nor  was  any  history  of  severe 
illness  obtained. 

Case  22.  Let  us  now  contrast  with  the  above  case 
that  of  Benjamin  L.,  a  young  man  of  over  20.  He  had 
had  unusually  fine  educational  opportunities,  both  from 
the  standpoint  of  schools  he  had  attended  and  the  en- 
vironment in  which  he  lived.  His  family  were  well 
educated  and  cultured  people,  and  since  this  boy  was 
very  companionable  with  both  parents,  he  had,  of  course, 
gained  much  from  the  home  surroundings.  In  spite 
of  the  chance  for  good  mental  interests,  he  did  not 
care  for  book  learning  and  had  no  desire  to  attend  college. 
After  leaving  school  he  had  been  placed  in  a  bank  where 
he  had  to  work  largely  with  numbers. 

Mental  examination  showed  that  this  young  man  had 
certain  very  distinct  abilities,  the  most  striking  of  which 
was  memory  for  rote  material.  For  auditory  presenta- 
tions his  record  was  twelve  numerals  correct,  and  thirteen 
were  repeated  with  the  transposition  of  only  one  numeral. 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN   MENTAL  PROCESSES        123 

This  remarkable  performance  was  consistently  maintained 
on  several  trials.  For  syllables,  —  that  is  sentences, 
but  where  there  was  no  logical  connection,  —  the  record 
was  likewise  extremely  good,  thirty-two  syllables  being 
repeated  without  any  effort.  Other  points  brought  out 
by  psychological  study  were  the  following :  He  proved 
to  have  very  good  mechanical  ability,  handling  concrete 
material  with  splendid  perceptions  and  much  skill.  Like- 
wise he  possessed  excellent  ability  in  the  use  of  language. 
He  talked  very  well,  showed  a  good  discrimination  in  the 
choice  of  words  and  had  a  distinct  gift  for  clear  and 
effective  presentation  of  his  ideas. 

None  of  the  qualities  in  which  he  really  excelled  was 
being  used  in  his  vocational  pursuits,  whereas  he  was 
occupied  with  just  the  things  that  had  always  interested 
him  least.  We  merely  mention  this  as  evidence  of  the 
fact  that  even  in  intelligent  families  there  is  little  realiza- 
tion of  talent  and  of  weakness  in  the  placing  of  young 
people  in  occupations. 

There  was  not  the  slightest  evidence  that  the  training 
received  by  this  young  man  accounted  in  any  way  for 
his  unusually  good  rote  memory,  nor  in  the  preceding 
case  had  education  bettered  innately  poor  memory  span. 

Case  23.  Exceedingly  defective  remote  memory  may 
be  found  in  an  individual  whose  immediate  memory  is 
normal.  This  fact  is  clearly  shown  in  the  analysis  of 
the  following  case,  which  illustrates  likewise  the  prac- 
tical significance  of  such  a  defect. 

Peter  R.,  11  years  old  when  first  seen  by  us,  has  been 
examined  many  times  during  the  year  which  has  inter- 
vened since  the  first  study.  He  has  been  tested  by 
three  examiners  and  retested  by  two  of  them  several 
times.  The  mental  characteristics  which  have  been 
noted  in  the  laboratory  are  quite  in  accord  with  the 
observations  of  his  teachers. 


124      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

On  psychological  examination  it  is  apparent  at  once 
that  there  is  no  difficulty  with  immediate  memory;  a 
large  number  of  varied  tests  all  offer  proof  of  this  fact. 
That  immediate  visual  memory  is  not  defective  is  shown 
by  the  excellent  results  on  the  Binet  figures  and  by  his 
recital  on  the  Aussage  test.  In  the  latter,  after  seeing 
the  picture  for  ten  seconds,  Peter  enumerated  as  many 
objects  and  details  as  are  given  by  the  average  person 
of  his  age,  and  on  cross-examination  we  found  that  he 
could  give  correct  replies  concerning  many  other  items. 
For  auditory  stimuli  immediate  memory  was  also  normal. 
Tests  here  were  quite  in  accord  with  norms  for  his  age. 
He  could  repeat  five  numerals  readily,  and  occasionally 
six;  in  memory  for  syllables  he  did  rather  better  than 
the  norm,  while  auditory  memory  for  logical  verbal 
material  proved  to  be  very  good.  He  formed  new  asso- 
ciations such  as  are  required  in  the  arbitrary  association 
test;  remembered  directions  told  him  orally,  and  was 
able  to  carry  in  mind  and  later  imitate  a  series  of  move- 
ments involving  six  steps  (the  Knox  Cube  test),  after 
having  been  shown  three  times ;  he  could  even  remember 
and  control  four  numerals  presented  auditorily  when  he 
was  required  to  retell  them  backwards. 

On  a  number  of  tests  requiring  very  little  memory  and 
meant  to  gauge  specifically  other  mental  processes,  he 
did  very  well.  The  construction  tests  were  performed 
normally;  both  cross  line  tests  were  correct  on  first 
trial;  the  pictorial  completion  test  was  done  well,  and 
control  of  verbal  association  as  indicated  by  the  opposites 
test  presented  no  unusual  features. 

What  has  impressed  every  one  is  the  fact  that  this 
boy  cannot  retain  for  any  length  of  time  what  he  is  able 
to  learn  immediately  and  what  has  been  presented  to 
him  with  most  patient  and  persistent  efforts.  When 
we  first  saw  him  we  were  told  that  both  his  mother  and 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL  PROCESSES       125 

his  school  teachers  considered  him  a  very  dull  lad.  It 
was  quite  true  that  he  had  gained  very  little  from  all 
his  school  experience;  he  could  not  read  a  simple  first- 
grade  passage,  and  he  could  write  only  his  name  and 
three  or  four  other  words;  adding  simple  number  com- 
binations constituted  his  acquirements  in  arithmetic. 
His  writing  is  poor,  the  letters  often  are  not  properly 
formed ;  he  is  not  only  left-handed,  but  writes  in  an 
awkward,  overhand  fashion. 

Since  our  first  examination  we  know  that  the  boy  has 
attended  the  public  schools  for  some  five  or  six  months, 
and  that  later  he  has  received  intensive  and  individual 
help  during  a  period  of  four  months  by  a  teacher  who  has 
been  most  zealous  in  her  efforts  to  help  the  boy.  In 
spite  of  this,  we  find  that  he  has  made  absolutely  no  head- 
way in  any  of  the  school  branches.  He  cannot  remember 
the  phonetic  values  of  the  different  letters,  although  he 
has  received  a  great  amount  of  drill  in  these.  At  the 
end  of  a  day's  lesson  he  knows  them,  but  by  the  next 
day  they  are  forgotten.  In  consequence,  he  has  made  no 
progress  in  either  reading  or  spelling. 

For  days  at  a  time  he  has  been  drilled  in  the  process 
of  subtraction,  and  although  he  understands  it  and  im- 
mediately after  being  taught  can  solve  problems  without 
error,  yet  when  the  drill  is  stopped  for  two  or  three  days, 
all  that  he  has  learned  has  been  absolutely  lost.  He 
knows  a  few  of  the  simpler  combinations  of  the  multi- 
plication tables;  the  more  difficult  ones  he  cannot  re- 
member. After  he  has  been  told  the  date  again  and 
again,  if  a  few  days  elapse  before  he  is  questioned,  he 
will  make  the  wildest  guesses;  thus,  after  having  heard 
each  morning  for  several  weeks  that  the  current  month 
was  September,  when  the  drill  was  stopped  for  three 
days  he  said  in  reply  to  a  question  that  it  was  February. 
After  months  of  effort  he  is  finally  able  to  name  the 


126     PSYCHOLOGY  OP  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

months  of  the  year  without  error,  but  he  cannot  remem- 
ber his  birthday  or  learn  to  tell  time,  and  he  acquires 
almost  no  information  about  events  of  the  day.  We  are 
told  that  several  of  his  schoolmates  have  endeavored  to 
teach  him,  and  that  his  responses  to  questions  after  an 
interval  of  some  days  are  so  ludicrous  and  his  information 
is  so  absurdly  confused  that  they  roar  with  laughter  at 
his  errors. 

The  defect  found  by  the  above  tests  is  corroborated  by 
other  tests  for  remote  memory.  He  is  unable  to  remem- 
ber the  figures  of  the  arbitrary  association  test  which  he 
has  done  three  tunes  previously.  He  cannot  recall  the 
passage  used  in  the  auditory  verbal  test  for  logical  mem- 
ory ;  he  does  not  remember  that  this  test  was  given  him 
the  year  before,  although  at  the  time  the  immediate 
reproduction  was  excellent.  He  cannot  recall  a  single 
one  of  any  of  the  short  incidents  used  in  the  absurdities 
tests.  When  asked  to  describe  any  of  the  tests  given  to 
him  previously,  he  is  unable  to  do  so.  Trying  to  recol- 
lect the  Binet  test  for  three  words  in  a  sentence,  he  gives 
one  of  the  three  words  incorrectly,  although  he  had  done 
the  test  well  less  than  a  month  earlier.  Very  curious 
was  his  attempt  to  draw  a  simple  scheme  of  the  arrange- 
ment of  three  large  buildings  at  an  institution  where  he 
spent  ten  happy  days  some  two  months  before.  It 
seemed  incredible  that  the  relationships  of  the  buildings 
should  not  have  been  recollected;  he  pictured  them 
absurdly  misplaced.  Questioned  about  evening  enter- 
tainments which  have  been  given  once  a  week  at  the 
institution  where  he  is  living,  he  tells  us  vaguely  about 
stereopticon  pictures  of  snow  mountains,  but  cannot  tell 
what  country  they  are  in  nor  can  he  recollect  certain 
pictures  of  London,  seen  on  another  occasion,  except  to 
say  that  they  were  pictures  of  buildings  in  some  old 
country. 


SPECIAL   DEFECTS   IN   MENTAL   PROCESSES        127 

It  should  be  stated  that  this  boy  is  a  very  faithful  and 
industrious  worker.  He  has  been  making  the  most 
serious  attempts  to  take  advantage  of  the  efforts  that 
are  being  made  in  his  behalf.  He  will  invent  problems 
and  bring  them  to  his  teacher  when  his  routine  work  is 
completed.  In  the  manual  training  room,  although  he 
shows  some  little  initiative  and  good  imitative  ability, 
directions  have  to  be  given  him  over  and  over  again. 

Binet  tests  offer  little  that  is  of  any  help  in  interpre- 
tation of  such  a  case ;  they  do  not  indicate  the  particular 
defect  which  is  the  most  interesting  feature  of  the  boy's 
mentality.  The  first  record  graded  him  9f  years  mentally. 
His  last  testing,  over  a  year  later,  indicated  very  little 
advancement;  he  has  now  learned  the  months  of  the 
year  and  succeeds  on  one  other  test  previously  a  failure. 
Naturally,  remote  memory  is  so  important  an  aspect  of 
mental  life  that  great  disability  in  it  affects  learning 
to  such  an  extent  that  an  individual  with  this  defect 
must  be  considered  educationally  and  socially  a  defec- 
tive. In  the  case  outlined  above  we  have  always  felt 
the  prognosis  to  be  poor ;  the  boy  will  continue  to  grade 
as  a  moron. 

The  contrast  between  remote  and  immediate  memory 
powers  in  this  case  is  strikingly  shown  in  the  graphic 
form  which  we  sometimes  use  in  evaluating  test  results 
and  we  therefore  append  it : 

TESTS   FOR  REMOTE  MEMORY 

Below  normal  Normal  or  above 

Visual  memory 
Logical  verbal  memory 
General  information 
Number  work ;  processes  and 
combinations 


128      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

Learning —  as  of  birthday,  date, 
current  month,  months  of 
year,  etc. 

Reading,  either  by  word  pic- 
tures or  phonetic  values 

Telling  time 

Relating  past  events 


TESTS  FOB  IMMEDIATE  MEMORY 

Visual  —  Binet  and  other 
geometrical  figures 

Syllables  —  24  correct 

Memory  span  —  5  numerals 
always;  6  numerals  oc- 
casionally 

4  digits  backwards 

8  memories  (Terman  test 
read  to  him) 

Substitution  test 

Auditory  —  verbal  memory 
test 

Aussage  picture  test 

Knox  Cube  test  —  imitating 
a  series  of  movements 

Learning  —  as  of  school  sub- 
jects, birthday,  date,  etc. 


DEFECTS  OF  INNER  VISUAL  FUNCTIONS 

Analogous  to  auditory  defect,  illustrations  of  defect 
in  visual  functions  are  presented.  No  doubt  such  dis- 
ability may  be  more  or  less  specialized,  the  significance 
increasing  with  the  extent  and  degree  to  which  the  defect 
exists.  Certain  of  the  practical  correlations  of  visual 
defects  have  already  been  noted  in  the  discussion  of  dis- 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL  PROCESSES        129 

ability  for  reading ;  but  they  are  by  no  means  limited  to 
this  school  subject.  They  influence  a  much  wider  range 
of  activities. 

This  type  of  disability  is  properly  placed  after  memory 
defect  because  in  considering  defects  in  the  visual  powers, 
memory  plays  so  large  a  part. 

Case  24.  Harry  R.,  14  years  and  9  months  of  age, 
had  made  much  slower  progress  in  school  than  any  other 
member  of  his  large  family.  The  boy  was  said  to  study 
hard  at  home,  where  the  father  and  an  older  sister  helped 
him  frequently  with  his  lessons.  He  was  in  the  sixth 
grade,  but  maintained  his  position  there  only  with  diffi- 
culty. Although  his  family  regarded  him  as  retarded 
in  school  work,  they  considered  him  normal  in  all  other 
respects.  He  was  so  conscious  of  his  disabilities  that 
he  had  become  sensitive  to  the  extent  of  crying  bitterly 
if  scolded  because  of  his  poor  record. 

Psychological  examination  showed  that  this  boy's 
abilities  were  quite  uneven,  and  that  he  had  a  striking 
defect  in  visual  powers.  His  perception  of  form  evi- 
dently was  not  notably  poor,  but  perception  of  relation- 
ships of  form  was  exceedingly  defective.  He  failed  to 
solve  the  simpler  construction  test,  ordinarily  performed 
by  normal  eight-year-old  children.  His  efforts  on  the 
more  difficult  one  were  purely  random;  many  impossi- 
bilities were  tried,  and  the  final  result  was  likewise  a 
failure.  Visual  memory  was  equally  as  defective.  The 
Binet  test  for  memory  of  geometrical  figures  was  repro- 
duced so  poorly  that  the  forms  were  altogether  unrecog- 
nizable. A  figure  even  simpler  than  either  of  the  Binet 
forms  was  not  reproduced  correctly.  Indeed,  the  boy 
failed  on  three  or  four  tests  all  designed  for  testing  visual 
memory.  Neither  could  he  draw  the  simplest  diagram 
of  the  facade  of  his  own  house ;  after  representing  it  by 
an  oblong,  he  could  not  place  the  doors  and  windows. 


130      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

In  an  attempt  to  draw  the  floor  plan  of  his  home  he  be- 
came utterly  confused;  he  could  not  indicate  where  the 
doorway  was  located,  nor  how  the  rooms  were  arranged. 

It  was  evident  on  the  cross-line  tests  that  the  boy  could 
not  represent  to  himself  the  figures  and  the  various  parts, 
although  he  could  draw  the  figures  and  number  them 
correctly;  even  with  the  model  before  him  he  could  not 
identify  the  sections.  Clearly,  his  powers  of  visual  rep- 
resentation were  very  defective.  Associations  between 
numbers  and  symbols  as  required  in  the  substitution 
test  were  very  slowly  formed,  the  boy  making  on  the 
whole  a  very  poor  record  here.  We  noted  on  the  apper- 
ception test  that  while  he  readily  grasped  the  meaning 
of  the  situations  depicted,  he  was  slow  in  finding  the 
pieces  which  he  wished  to  insert.  Indeed,  wherever 
visual  powers  were  concerned,  the  boy  was  slow  and 
frequently  unsuccessful. 

In  marked  contrast  to  his  poor  visual  powers,  we  found 
unusually  prompt  reactions  to  auditory  stimuli.  Mem- 
ory span  for  numerals  presented  auditorily  was  beyond 
the  norm  for  his  age;  he  was  able  to  reproduce  eight 
digits  with  ease.  Incidentally,  we  were  interested  in  the 
fact  that  he  repeated  the  numbers  in  phonographic  fashion 
quite  without  effort.  Memory  for  logical  material  where 
the  passage  was  read  to  him  proved  to  be  very  good, 
ten  out  of  twelve  items  being  given  and  these  including 
the  mam  ideas.  Here  the  verbal  accuracy  was  distinctly 
good.  He  did  not  do  quite  as  well  in  the  memory  pas- 
sage which  he  himself  read ;  twelve  of  twenty  items  were 
reproduced  in  correct  sequence,  but  we  noted  by  the 
movements  of  his  lips  that  the  boy  was  saying  to  himself 
the  words  as  he  read  them.  Nor  did  there  seem  to  be 
any  difficulty  in  control  of  verbal  associations;  in  the 
opposites  test  there  were  no  errors  or  failures.  Very 
good  auditory  discrimination  was  shown  in  repeating 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN   MENTAL  PROCESSES        131 

difficult  sentences  and  phrases.  Enunciation  was  good, 
and  even  catch  phrases  were  repeated  correctly.  He 
sang  "America"  accurately. 

General  intelligence,  as  gauged  by  the  Binet  tests,  was 
not  defective;  he  graded  through  twelve  years.  He 
failed  on  the  Binet  visual  test,  already  mentioned,  and 
could  not  name  the  months  in  order,  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  three  of  the  fifteen-year  tests  were  well  done. 
Where  common  sense  or  reasoning  was  required,  responses 
were  correct  and  quite  prompt.  Absurdities  were  de- 
tected, and  even  the  fifteen-year  tests  for  interpretation 
and  inference  caused  him  no  trouble. 

The  boy  was  poorly  informed,  possibly  due  to  the  fact 
that  he  read  very  little.  Indeed,  we  soon  found  that 
he  was  unable  to  read  a  third-grade  passage  with  any 
degree  of  fluency  or  accuracy.  He  often  failed  on  even 
simple  words,  substituting  some  word  that  the  context 
suggested.  Having  stumbled  slowly  through  a  passage 
he  could  reproduce  the  meaning.  His  difficulty  lay  in 
recognition  of  the  symbols.  Many  words  had  to  be 
sounded  first  phonetically.  Spelling  was  similarly  poor; 
he  wrote,  "The  prenter  mad  some  cors."  In  number 
work  he  was  inaccurate  in  carrying  out  the  processes, 
although  he  understood  the  principles  involved  and 
knew  the  number  combinations.  He  very  rapidly  gave 
the  multiplication  tables  orally,  making  only  one  error 
when  he  said  "ten  times  twelve  is  one  hundred  and  two." 
Perhaps  it  would  be  stretching  the  point  to  interpret  this 
error  as  certainly  due  to  a  wrong  visual  picture,  but 
this  interpretation  is  interesting  at  least  as  a  possibility. 
Reasoning  powers,  as  shown  on  simple  arithmetical  prob- 
lems as  well  as  in  a  number  of  other  tests,  seemed  quite 
normal. 

We  have  here,  then,  a  boy  who  shows  a  decided  differ- 
ence in  auditory  and  visual  powers,  the  former  being 


132      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

distinctly  good  and  the  latter  decidedly  below  normal. 
So  far  as  he  was  tested,  anything  in  the  auditory  field 
was  done  extremely  well. 

Physically  the  boy  was  fairly  well  developed,  but  rather 
poorly  nourished.  There  may  have  been  some  difficulty 
with  adenoids,  for  he  was  a  partial  mouth-breather. 
He  had  suffered  no  illnesses,  except  that  when  he  was 
seven  years  old  he  had  fallen,  striking  the  back  of  his 
head,  and  two  weeks  later  went  to  the  hospital  because 
paralysis  of  the  left  side  then  appeared.  He  was  said  to 
have  been  unable  to  talk  for  about  ten  days,  but  then  re- 
covered his  speech.  At  the  time  of  our  examination,  we 
found  no  speech  defect  of  any  kind.  Evidently  he  made 
a  good  recovery ;  when  we  saw  him  there  was  but  very 
slight  atrophy  of  the  left  side,  knee  jerks  were  almost 
equal,  and  there  was  very  little  difference  noted  in  the 
strength  of  the  two  arms ;  he  walked  with  a  slight  limp. 

Case  25.  Edgar  M.,  11  years  old,  has  had  the  best  of 
opportunities,  both  from  the  standpoint  of  home  environ- 
ment and  continuous  attendance  at  an  unusually  fine 
school.  Every  advantage  that  comes  from  intelligent 
home  interest  and  cooperation  has  been  his.  By  his 
regular  teachers  and  occasional  tutors  much  effort  has 
been  expended  in  the  desire  to  help  the  boy  progress. 
In  spite  of  all  this,  he  was  brought  to  us  by  his  highly 
intelligent  parents  as  a  case  which  was  perhaps  not  under- 
stood and  which  was  felt  to  be  met  unsatisfactorily  by  the 
ordinary  school  procedure.  He  was  not  a  disciplinary 
problem,  but  he  showed  extremely  little  interest  in  school 
work,  and  little  initiative  or  response  even  in  outside 
activities.  His  range  of  interests  was  said  to  be  very 
limited. 

Our  several  psychological  examinations  revealed  the 
fact  that  in  many  respects  Edgar  was  far  beyond  his  age 
in  ability,  in  spite  of  his  poor  standing  in  school.  As 


SPECIAL   DEFECTS   IN   MENTAL   PROCESSES        133 

judged  by  the  Binet  scale,  his  general  intelligence  was 
much  in  advance  of  his  chronological  age,  for  he  passed 
all  the  tests  through  the  twelve  and  fifteen-year  groups 
readily.  His  apperceptions  were  exceedingly  keen  and 
good,  as  was  shown  in  many  ways.  Not  only  did  he  do 
well  on  psychological  tests  for  apperception,  but  he 
showed  an  unusually  keen  sense  of  humor  for  a  boy  of 
his  age,  very  quickly  perceiving  the  point  of  a  joke  or 
riddle,  and  his  social  apperceptions,  as  shown  by  his 
good  manners  and  general  politeness,  corroborated  the 
findings  on  tests.  Then,  too,  his  reasoning  ability  we 
discovered  to  be  far  beyond  the  norm  for  his  age.  This 
was  evidenced  by  a  variety  of  tests  in  this  field,  including 
such  fairly  difficult  tasks  as  the  analogies  test  designed 
for  fifteen-year  old  children.  He  very  quickly  perceived 
the  relationships  involved  and  made  not  a  single  error 
in  any  test  of  this  kind. 

Tests  requiring  a  number  of  abilities,  as  in  the  difficult 
directions  test,  were  done  extremely  well,  with  good 
powers  of  attention  and  concentration,  with  full  apprecia- 
tion of  the  "catches",  and  with  a  very  rational  under- 
standing of  all  that  was  required.  Processes  of  associa- 
tion as  tested  in  several  ways  were  normal.  These  in- 
cluded both  free  and  controlled  verbal  associations  and 
the  formation  of  new  associations  between  arbitrary 
symbols,  in  which  the  boy  showed  quite  good  learning 
ability.  Tests  for  analysis  and  mental  representation 
were  done  correctly  too,  but  in  the  more  difficult  of  these 
it  was  apparent  that  the  visual  powers  were  not  any  aid, 
and  the  solution  was  largely  by  means  of  reasoning  out 
the  situations.  As  for  memory,  there  was  found  a  distinct 
difference  in  the  auditory  and  visual  fields,  the  former 
being  considerably  better.  This  was  true  both  for  rote 
and  logical  material.  Whereas  the  boy  could  remember 
readily  eight  numerals  heard  once,  it  was  extraordinary 


134      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

to  note  that  he  had  difficulty  in  remembering  seven  pre- 
sented visually,  and  succeeded  then  only  by  translating 
visual  into  auditory  terms.  A  passage  read  to  him  was 
reproduced  very  well,  only  one  item  out  of  twelve  being 
omitted,  but  when  he  himself  read  a  passage,  the  reproduc- 
tion was  considerably  worse,  only  thirteen  out  of  twenty 
items  being  recalled. 

In  connection  with  his  poor  visual  memory,  it  was 
interesting  to  observe  that  all  visual  perceptions  were 
extremely  slow.  In  the  construction  test,  where  the  prob- 
lems require  the  perception  of  relationships  of  form,  the 
procedure  was  rational,  but  very  slow.  Again  in  the 
apperception  test  the  boy  very  quickly  gave  the  meaning 
of  the  situations  depicted  pictorially,  but  was  very  slow 
in  finding  the  pieces  he  wished  to  insert,  showing  that 
his  apperceptions  were  quicker  than  his  visual  perceptions. 

This  slowness  of  perception  and  innate  lack  of  good 
visual  power  was  strikingly  apparent  on  the  so-called 
Aussage  test,  where  after  seeing  a  picture  for  a  brief 
time  an  account  of  it  is  given,  after  which  questions  are 
asked  concerning  points  not  voluntarily  mentioned.  In 
this  test  the  boy  distinctly  showed  his  disability;  he 
gave  only  five  items  in  the  free  account  and  was  exceed- 
ingly uncertain  in  regard  to  other  points  about  which 
he  was  questioned.  He  often  said,  "I  don't  know", 
or  "I'm  not  sure",  and  some  of  the  more  prominent 
objects  depicted  were  not  seen  by  him  at  all.  His  per- 
formance here  was  very  much  worse  than  that  of  many 
a  child  who  is  actually  younger,  to  say  nothing  of  less 
generally  intelligent  than  he.  Coupled  with  his  slow- 
ness in  visual  perception,  there  was  quite  a  little  difficulty 
in  motor  coordination.  He  was  unable  to  make  a  good 
record  on  the  so-called  tapping  test,  and  his  poor  writing 
indicated,  too,  this  lack  of  psychomotor  control. 

In  school  the  difficulty  had  partly  been  to  arouse  and 


SPECIAL   DEFECTS   IN   MENTAL   PROCESSES        135 

maintain  the  boy's  interest.  He  was  retarded  in  arith- 
metic ;  he  had  learned  to  add,  subtract,  and  to  multiply, 
all  of  which  he  did  slowly ;  in  long  division,  however,  he 
was  exceedingly  inaccurate.  He  failed  on  several  simple 
examples  given  him.  In  spite  of  his  very  good  reasoning 
powers  he  did  not  do  well  in  arithmetical  problems. 
He  read  fluently  and  as  well  as  could  be  expected  for  his 
age  and  grade.  He  gave  a  good  reproduction  of  the  ideas 
contained  in  the  passage,  but  even  so  he  much  preferred 
being  read  to;  he  himself  said,  "I  am  too  lazy  to  read 
it",  and  the  physical  side  of  the  process  seemed  irksome. 
Another  school  question  arose  from  the  fact  that  he  wrote 
so  slowly  and  so  poorly,  in  consequence  of  which  his 
spelling  was  not  up  to  the  standard  of  his  class. 

The  peculiarities  in  Edgar's  mental  make-up  revealed 
by  the  psychological  tests  become  significant  for  under- 
standing the  school  record  which  so  puzzled  his  teachers 
and  parents.  His  difficulty  in  visual  perception  and  his 
slowness  in  this  field  had  been  a  very  great  handicap  in 
many  of  the  schoolroom  activities.  He  could  not  per- 
ceive at  a  normal  rate  such  work  as  was  put  upon  the 
blackboard,  or  even  what  he  read  from  books.  Cer- 
tainly, however,  his  perception  of  ideas  was  normal.  It 
is  only  through  meeting  such  a  problem  that  we  realize 
how  much  of  school  work  requires  normal  powers  of  visual 
perception. 

The  poor  visual  memory  which  this  boy  demonstrated 
undoubtedly  also  entered  into  the  situation,  but  since 
he  transposes  so  readily  visual'  into  auditory  terms,  this 
probably  was  not  so  great  a  factor  as  his  other  difficulty, 
namely,  poor  motor  coordinations.  Slowness  in  visual 
perceptions  and  slowness  in  writing  due  to  his  poor 
motor  coordinations  explain  his  retardation  in  spite  of 
his  very  unusual  abilities  in  so  many  ways.  In  oral 
recitations  where  reasoning  is  involved,  or  where  general 


136      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

intelligence  or  ability  to  grasp  meaning  is  the  main  ele- 
ment, this  boy  would  do  extremely  well,  but  since  a  large 
part  of  the  ordinary  schoolroom  procedure  deals  with 
mechanical  elements  difficult  for  him,  he  is  at  a  great 
disadvantage. 

Other  facts  regarding  the  boy  are  as  follows:  Edgar 
was  born  in  England,  but  came  with  his  parents  to  this 
country  when  a  very  small  lad  and  began  school  at  the 
usual  age,  attending  regularly.  The  heredity  and  de- 
velopmental history  are  entirely  negative.  Physically 
he  is  decidedly  small  for  his  age,  but  quite  well  nourished. 
His  considerable  myopia  has  been  corrected  by  glasses 
since  he  was  six  years  old.  No  other  sensory  defects 
have  been  noted  in  the  course  of  examinations  by  the 
best  of  specialists.  He  seemed  rather  lacking  in  energy 
and  vigor.  Physical  reactions  have  all  his  life  been 
notably  quiet,  though  he  is  a  healthy  boy. 

On  the  constructive  side,  concerning  what  could  be 
done  in  such  a  case,  one  naturally  thinks  of  several  possible 
plans.  With  individual  help  perhaps  much  might  be 
accomplished  through  systematic  training  to  improve 
his  powers  of  visual  perception.  All  kinds  of  devices 
could  be  employed  to  give  practice  in  the  visual  field,  so 
that  his  perceptions  would  become  more  rapid.  The 
same  is  true  regarding  psychomotor  control.  Corrective 
gymnastics  and  games,  first  simple  and  then  becoming 
more  and  more  difficult,  ought  to  be  a  great  help  to  him. 
And  then  much  school  work  which  now  stresses,  or  in- 
deed taxes,  the  perceptual  side,  could  be  eliminated  in 
favor  of  other  methods  of  presentation.  Thorndike  has 
made  the  point  that  no  work  in  the  schoolroom  is  as 
trying  on  the  eyes  as  the  copying  of  numbers  from  the 
blackboard,  and  has  suggested  that  much  eye  strain 
could  be  saved  by  giving  arithmetic  work  in  books  where 
the  problems  are  already  written  and  only  the  solution 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL  PROCESSES        137 

need  be  set  down.  There  is  a  tremendous  waste  of  time, 
effort,  and  nervous  energy  in  the  amount  of  copying 
that  is  demanded  of  children  in  the  ordinary  schoolroom 
without  any  profit  accruing  from  the  task.  All  children 
suffer  thereby,  and  in  a  case  such  as  the  one  under  dis- 
cussion the  penalty  is  extreme. 

In  the  case  of  Edgar  several  matters  pertaining  to  the 
physical  side  of  his  make-up  were  taken  into  serious 
consideration.  In  the  first  place,  thinking  of  the  basis 
of  his  defects,  what  part  did  his  myopia  play  in  possibly 
preventing  the  acquisition  of  ordinary  visual  impressions 
and  perceptions,  in  preventing  the  mind  from  being  stored 
to  anything  like  the  normal  extent  with  visual  imagery? 
Easy  though  it  may  be  to  suggest  such  causation,  it  is 
quite  impossible  to  affirm  that  myopia  was  or  could 
have  been  the  main  factor.  It  is  true  that  up  to  his 
sixth  year  Edgar  was  gaining  but  poor  impressions  of  the 
seen  world,  but  during  the  succeeding  five  years  eyesight 
was  nearly  normal.  Besides,  plenty  of  other  children 
who  have  suffered  as  much  early  in  life  from  myopia 
have  not  later  shown  such  marked  disability  for  visual 
perceptions.  And  why  should  the  visual  difficulty  have 
affected  visual  memory  to  the  extent  of  creating  a  defect  ? 
All  together,  it  seems  to  us,  the  probability  is  that  the 
origin  of  the  defect  in  this  case  lies  much  deeper  than 
early  imperfect  vision. 

Then,  the  question  whether  the  general  physical  condi- 
tion was  responsible  for  lack  of  interest  and  initiative  was 
considered.  The  only  way  to  answer  this  was  to  observe 
the  effects  of  appropriate  physical  treatment.  There  was 
no  problem  of  general  health, — Edgar  was  quite  up  to  the 
average  in  this  respect,  —  but  he  had  not  grown  normally, 
so  far ;  he  was  decidedly  small  for  his  age.  And  the  re- 
markable quietness  of  his  physical  reactions,  we  felt, 
might  portend  that  the  sources  of  physical  energy  were 


138      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

not  well  maintained.  He  had  suffered  from  recurrent 
adenoids,  but  these,  as  well  as  any  other  slight  ailment, 
were  promptly  cared  for  under  the  best  of  advice.  We 
thought  of  general  physiological  problems  of  metabolism 
and  their  relation  to  internal  gland  secretions.  With  a 
view  to  improving  any  fault  of  this  kind,  if  it  existed, 
appropriate  treatment  was  instituted. 

At  this  tune  our  findings  were  presented  to  Edgar's 
teachers  in  conference  and  they,  appreciating  thoroughly 
his  problem,  began  anew,  now  with  different  methods, 
to  cooperate  with  the  parents  in  stimulating  and  instruct- 
ing him.  Some  have  suggested  that  the  bare  fact  of  a 
study  having  been  made  of  his  case  and  new  interest 
taken  in  him,  has  led  Edgar  to  become  more  conscious 
of  his  difficulties  and  has  really  awakened  him  to  better 
efforts,  which  of  themselves  have  largely  turned  the  tide. 

As  in  many  instances  where  a  satisfactory  treatment 
has  been  introduced,  the  relative  values  of  the  several 
changes  are  hard  to  determine.  At  any  rate,  the  results 
in  this  case  have  been  most  gratifying.  While  no  essential 
physical  changes  were  observed,  Edgar  began  very  soon 
to  show  new  interest  in  his  work,  to  make  unprecedented 
headway,  and  to  maintain  well  his  standing  in  his  class. 
It  is  reported  that  in  the  year  which  has  elapsed  since 
we  first  saw  him,  he  has  shown  great  advance  in  mental 
energy  and  in  acquisitions. 


In  considering  ability  and  disability  for  manual  work, 
we  must  again  remember  that  distinctions  exist  between 
activities  that  may  seem  on  the  surface  much  alike.  It 
is  one  thing  to  be  unable  to  solve  problems  dealing  with 
concrete  material  because  of  difficulty  in  finding  methods 
of  solution,  and  quite  a  different  thing  to  produce  a  poor 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN   MENTAL  PROCESSES        139 

result  because  of  lack  of  dexterity  to  carry  out  well  the 
solution  one  has  reached.  The  former  depends  upon 
ability  to  reason  regarding  situations  involving  perception 
of  concrete  relationships.  Ruger 1  has  shown  the  in- 
dividual differences  that  exist  in  ability  to  solve  puzzles, 
where  methods  employed  by  intelligent  college-trained 
subjects  vary  all  the  way  from  random  trial  and  error  to 
deliberated  planfulness,  based  on  analysis  and  reasoning. 

Acquisition  of  manual  skill  necessary  to  carry  ideas  into 
execution  depends  on  good  psychomotor  control  and 
effective  coordinations.  Where  there  is  disability  in 
psychomotor  control,  perception  of  relationship  may  be 
normal,  the  method  of  solution  quickly  seen,  but  the 
ability  to  carry  out  the  plan  of  procedure  is  poor,  because 
the  neural  connections  leading  to  movement  are  faulty. 

There  has  been  some  recognition  of  differences  in 
ability  to  perform  manual  work,  though  the  emphasis 
has  been  placed  more  often  on  unusual  ability  in  this 
direction  in  individuals  who  are  generally  dull  or  unable 
to  progress  normally  in  work  dealing  with  abstractions. 
Holmes2  speaks  of  individuals  with  "concrete  minds" 
or  "manual  minds."  On  the  other  hand,  very  frequently 
too  little  cognizance  is  taken  of  defects  for  dealing  with 
concrete  problems.  Perhaps  it  is  therefore  wise  to  stress 
the  fact  that  disabilities  of  this  kind  exist.  More  and 
more  handwork  is  being  offered  in  schools,  and  it  seems 
quite  generally  taken  for  granted  that  all  children  are 
fitted  for  this  type  of  work.  While  we  do  not  doubt 
that  some  benefit  is  to  be  derived  from  such  training, 
even  by  those  not  possessed  of  manual  skill,  yet  the 
general  educational  and  vocational  aspects  are  extremely 
important  to  keep  in  mind. 

1  Ruger,  A.  H.,  "Psychology  of  Efficiency."     Archives  of  Psychology, 
15. 

2  Holmes,  Arthur.     "  The  Backward  Child."     1915. 


140      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

From  among  a  number  of  instances  that  we  have  met, 
an  illustration  of  educational  and  vocational  misplacing 
made  because  of  lack  of  appreciation  of  this  type  of 
defect  is  cited. 

Case  26.  Melvin  W.,  15  years  old,  was  American 
born,  of  foreign  parentage.  He  had  attended  public 
school  from  his  sixth  year,  but  had  been  such  an  extreme 
truant  that  three  times  he  had  been  committed  to  a 
school  for  such  offenders.  Both  there  and  at  another 
correctional  institution  where  he  was  held  for  some  time 
the  main  emphasis  is  placed  on  manual  training,  al- 
though the  usual  school  subjects  are  also  taught. 

The  findings  on  psychological  tests  in  this  case  were 
very  striking  because  of  the  discrepancy  between  results 
on  tests  for  constructive  ability,  as  shown  in  the  handling 
of  concrete  material,  and  on  those  involving  abstractions. 
We  must  take  into  consideration  the  unusual  amount  of 
training  along  motor  lines  which  Melvin  had  received. 
In  spite  of  the  months  spent  in  shop  work,  the  boy  could 
not  perform  well  any  test  with  concrete  material  that 
required  perception  of  relationships  or  needed  any  in- 
dependent thinking  or  judgment.  He  had  learned  to  do 
certain  simple  tasks  through  imitation;  given  the  parts 
which  were  to  make  an  object,  the  model  of  which  was 
before  him,  he  succeeded;  that  is,  he  could  copy  from 
the  model  the  steps  required,  but  where  the  purpose  was 
stated  and  he  himself  had  to  find  the  method  to  achieve 
the  end,  he  was  a  dismal  failure.  Simple  construction 
tests  frequently  done  by  normal  eight-year-old  children 
proved  too  difficult  for  him.  He  solved  them  only  by 
random  methods,  showing  not  the  slightest  comprehension 
of  the  problems  as  such ;  he  did  not  profit  by  his  own 
mistakes,  but  kept  repeating  them,  with  slight  apper- 
ceptions in  the  face  of  this  kind  of  situation.  He  was 
extremely  awkward  in  the  use  of  his  hands,  demonstrating 


SPECIAL   DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL  PROCESSES       141 

decidedly  poor  psychomotor  control.  He  seemed  quite 
unable  to  size  up  any  practical,  concrete  situation,  even 
such  as  Terman's  Ball  and  Field  Puzzle,  where  the  person 
is  asked  to  tell  the  best  method  that  can  be  used  in  find- 
ing a  ball  lost  in  a  circular  field  of  high  grass.  In  the 
Yerkes  Multiple  Choice  test,  which  so  specially  tests 
ability  to  form  generalizations  on  the  basis  of  repeated 
experience  with  concrete  situations,  his  record  on  the  first 
two  problems  was  considerably  worse  than  the  tentative 
norms  for  untrained  subjects.  Indeed,  a  variety  of  tests, 
all  requiring  the  same  kind  of  ability,  namely,  judgment 
or  skill  with  actual  material,  corroborated  each  other. 

But  on  wrork  of  different  types  the  boy  did  quite  well. 
Tests  for  the  powers  of  mental  analysis  and  mental  repre- 
sentation caused  him  no  trouble,  and  he  showed  normal 
apperceptions  of  ideas  expressed  verbally.  He  was  able 
to  do  normally  the  so-called  directions  test.  His  verbal 
associations  were  normal,  and  we  found  no  trouble  with 
memory  in  any  phase.  In  repeating  the  ideas  contained 
in  a  logical  passage,  he  was  hampered  by  poor  knowledge 
of  English,  yet  the  main  ideas  themselves  were  reproduced. 
In  the  substitution  learning  test  he  made  a  good  record, 
and  reasoning  powers  required  for  response  to  common- 
sense  questions,  in  the  detection  of  incongruities  and  in 
arithmetical  problems,  were  quite  good. 

Of  routine  school  work  Melvin  had  not  acquired  a 
great  deal,  but  we  felt  that  there  was  no  defect  for  work 
of  this  type,  since  one  had  to  take  into  consideration 
the  excessive  truancy  which  had  been  a  feature  of  his 
entire  school  life.  When  we  first  saw  him  he  was  inac- 
curate in  all  work  in  arithmetic,  although  he  knew  the 
processes  and  number  combinations.  At  that  time  he 
read  only  haltingly,  mispronouncing  less  commonly  met 
words,  but  he  could  give  the  gist  of  what  he  read.  Our 
explanation  of  these  rather  poor  results  proved  to  be 


142      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

correct,  for  with  three  months'  training  in  these  school 
branches  he  gained  vastly.  When  the  same  work  was 
tried  at  the  expiration  of  this  tune,  we  found  that  he 
had  learned  to  add,  subtract,  multiply,  and  divide  cor- 
rectly and  quickly.  He  had  improved  quite  a  little  in 
his  writing  and  spelling,  and  somewhat  in  reading,  though 
this  was  still  not  very  good. 

He  came  from  a  rather  poor  home;  both  father  and 
mother  were  dull,  hard-working  people.  They  lived  in  a 
congested  neighborhood  where  the  boy  was  thrown  with 
bad  companions.  Indeed,  Melvin  had  been  in  court 
repeatedly  over  a  period  of  two  years,  involved  in  truancy, 
stealing,  and  burglary  with  the  same  group  of  boys. 
The  problem  was  that  of  a  typical  street  gang,  and  neither 
the  home  nor  the  neighborhood  offered  anything  to  sub- 
stitute for  the  misconduct  that  characterized  these  boys. 
We  were  unable  to  obtain  from  the  dull  parents  any  facts 
of  significance  in  regard  to  the  heredity,  but  we  noted 
in  the  physical  examination  of  the  boy  evidences  of 
congenital  lues;  a  blood  test,  however,  resulted  in  a 
negative  reaction.  Neither  were  we  able  to  obtain  a 
good  developmental  history.  Our  physical  examination 
showed  that  there  were  no  sensory  defects  nor  any  signs 
of  nervous  disturbance.  The  boy  was  fairly  well  devel- 
oped, and  himself  said  that  he  had  never  been  very  ill. 

Concerning  education,  this  case  illustrates  the  fallacy 
of  a  very  common  procedure.  It  seems  to  be  quite  a 
prevalent  idea  that  the  main  training  undertaken  in 
correctional  institutions  ought  to  be  along  the  lines  of 
manual  work.  Of  course  numerous  considerations  enter 
in,  and  for  boys  of  a  certain  age  no  doubt  trade  training 
is  to  be  advocated  in  order  that  upon  release  they  may 
be  fitted  for  an  occupation  which  will  make  them  eco- 
nomically successful.  But  there  are  some,  like  Melvin, 
who  are  incapable  of  profiting  much  by  the  expenditure 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL   PKOCESSES        143 

of  this  educational  effort  and  who  would,  perhaps,  suc- 
ceed far  better  in  work  which  would  prepare  them,  let 
us  say,  for  employment  in  an  office.  Our  diagnosis  in 
regard  to  this  boy's  lack  of  ability  for  manual  tasks  was 
in  accord  with  the  reports  given  us  by  his  manual  training 
teachers.  One  of  them  said  in  regard  to  Melvin  that  the 
boy  had  to  be  shown  what  to  do  step  by  step,  and  then 
the  instructor  had  to  stand  over  him  to  see  that  he  did 
it.  Although  he  had  been  given  a  considerable  amount 
of  individual  help,  he  was  unable  to  carry  out  any  plan- 
ning by  himself.  He  showed  no  initiative  or  originality 
in  the  work,  no  ability  to  use  material  in  a  rational  way. 
The  teacher  himself  felt  confident  that  the  boy  would 
never  be  successful  at  this  type  of  work. 

With  his  inadequate  school  training  because  of  his 
excessive  truancy,  the  boy  really  was  unfitted  for  any 
employment.  He  had  previously  been  placed  at  jobs 
that  were  along  the  line  of  his  greatest  incapacity.  He 
worked  in  factories  and  had  not  been  successful.  Once 
he  had  been  placed,  through  his  probation  officer,  in  a 
carpenter  shop.  We  can  easily  see  what  should  have 
been  done  in  this  case.  Instead  of  the  time  devoted  to 
shop  work,  the  boy  should  have  had  intensive  training 
in  writing  and  number  wyork,  or  something  of  a  type 
which  would  have  made  it  possible  for  him  to  succeed 
at  clerical  work,  or  at  least  in  some  position  where  he 
would  not  have  had  to  do  skilled  manual  work. 

Case  27.  A  record  can  be  given  of  a  few  tests  which 
show  extreme  difficulty  in  solving  problems  with  concrete 
material,  unaccompanied  by  poor  psychomotor  control, 
and  in  great  contrast  to  results  on  other  types  of  tests. 

Alexander  T.,  13  years  and  9  months  of  age,  was  a 
serious  boy  who  made  great  efforts  to  do  well  all  that 
was  asked  of  him.  He  worked  persistently  and  with 
good  powers  of  attention.  In  spite  of  his  earnest  en- 


144      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

deavors,  the  results  on  tests  with  concrete  material  were 
uniformly  poor.  The  simpler  construction  test,  solved 
usually  by  young  children,  he  did  by  a  purely  random 
method,  numerous  impossibilities  being  repeated  again 
and  again.  Perception  of  relationships  was  no  better 
on  the  more  difficult  construction  test;  here  the  boy 
seemed  utterly  unable  to  work  in  any  rational  way.  He 
tried  every  possible  combination,  repeating  his  errors, 
and  finally  at  the  end  of  five  minutes  had  not  succeeded. 
On  the  Stenquist  test  for  mechanical  ability,  he  demon- 
strated no  more  skill;  he  worked  persistently,  but  at 
the  end  of  a  half  hour  he  had  not  completed  all  of  the 
models.  The  simpler  models  wrere  correctly  copied,  but 
the  lock  was  not  put  together  properly,  several  of  the 
parts  being  omitted,  a  fact  which  Alexander  did  not  ap- 
preciate. One  of  the  simplest  models  was  not  correctly 
bolted  together;  the  placing  of  a  single  rubber  band 
over  pegs  to  form  a  five-pointed  star  caused  the  greatest 
trouble.  Although  the  boy  looked  at  the  copy  most 
carefully  and  persisted  for  twenty-three  minutes  in  his 
efforts  to  place  the  rubber  band,  he  finally  gave  it  up. 

No  awkwardness  whatever  was  displayed  in  his  manip- 
ulation of  concrete  material,  and  tests  gave  no  evidence 
of  any  difficulty  in  psychomotor  control.  On  both  the 
tapping  test  and  the  instructions  box  he  made  a  good 
record.  His  writing  of  words  and  figures  was  rapid  and 
remarkably  neat. 

On  tests  of  other  types  responses  were  prompt  and 
normal.  Both  cross-line  tests  were  solved  correctly  on 
first  trial.  Apperceptions,  as  shown  on  the  completion 
test,  were  rapid  and  accurate.  School  work  was  done 
well  for  his  grade,  and  according  to  the  Binet  scale  the 
boy  graded  as  normal.  His  delinquencies  were  no  doubt 
due  to  factors  other  than  his  special  disability ;  the  latter 
doubtless  would  play  a  great  role  later  in  vocational  life. 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL  PEOCESSES        145 

DEFECT  IN,  SPEED  OF  REACTIONS 

In  any  study  of  performance  there  are  two  factors 
which  need  to  be  considered.  On  the  one  hand,  there 
is  the  accuracy  of  the  reaction ;  on  the  other  hand,  there 
is  the  speed  of  the  reaction.  In  evaluating  test  results, 
both  factors,  accuracy  and  speed,  are  frequently  com- 
bined. In  different  kinds  of  work  either  the  one  or  the 
other  may  be  the  more  important  factor  of  the  two. 

Though  both  in  school  and  later  in  the  business  world 
the  emphasis  shifts  back  and  forth  from  one  to  the  other, 
now  speed,  now  accuracy  being  more  important,  at  no 
time  is  either  altogether  negligible.  The  problem  in 
arithmetic,  for  example,  must  be  solved  correctly,  but 
also  rapidly  enough  to  be  completed  within  certain  limits 
of  time.  The  child  who  cannot  keep  up  with  the  average 
of  the  class  because  of  slowness  of  mental  reactions  is  at 
a  very  great  disadvantage.  Even  though  he  understands 
his  work  and  can  perform  it  correctly  if  given  long  enough 
time,  he  becomes  an  out-and-out  school  failure  if  unable 
to  complete  tasks  as  promptly  as  is  required.  In  indus- 
trial life  speed  is  often  a  very  vital  consideration. 

Many  experimental  studies  of  reaction  types  have  been 
made,  and  though  the  explanation  of  differences  in  speed 
may  be  obscure,  inasmuch  as  we  do  not  know  whether 
all  or  only  part  of  the  active  neural  mechanism  is  at 
fault,  the  fact  that  there  is  great  variability  in  reaction 
time  is  well  known.  Slowness  of  reaction  leads  to  prac- 
tical consequences  even  early  in  life.  Holmes l  cites  an 
interesting  case  of  a  child  who  because  of  his  general 
slowness  was  most  unfortunately  considered  a  dunce  in 
school,  but  who  later  when  properly  adjusted  vocationally 
was  a  tremendous  success.  Almost  everyone  is  acquainted 
with  people  who  are  intelligent  enough,  but  who  are  slow. 

1  Holmes,  Arthur.    1'The  Backward  Child."     1915, 


146      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

Sometimes  this  inability  to  react  quickly  is  characteristic 
of  all  responses,  and  sometimes  it  is  true  only  in  special 
fields. 

That  slowness  of  mental  reactions  is  sometimes  the 
explanation  of  seeming  general  incapacity  is  illustrated 
by  the  following  case : 

Case  28.  Arthur  R.,  17  years  old,  was  a  boy  who  had 
exceedingly  good  educational  advantages,  but  he  was 
considered  by  his  family  and  his  teachers,  and  so  ul- 
timately by  himself,  to  be  a  failure.  Because  of  his 
poor  school  record  and  his  general  slowness,  his  quick- 
minded  family  categorized  him  as  innately  stupid,  and 
now,  at  this  late  age,  desired  a  study  made  of  his  difficulties 
and  educational  possibilities. 

Mental  tests  given  to  this  young  man  showed  a  sig- 
nificant difference  from  normal  achievement,  not  so 
much  because  of  inability  to  succeed  with  the  problems 
and  tasks,  but  because  of  the  unusually  long  time  the 
performance  nearly  always  required.  This  characteristic 
was  even  evident  when  Arthur  was  working  with  concrete 
material,  though  less  so  than  with  abstract ;  perceptions 
of  form  and  of  relationships  of  form  were  accurate  but 
slow.  In  problems  dealing  with  the  concrete  he  learned 
fairly  readily  and  retained  what  he  learned.  His  apper- 
ceptions, though  normal,  were  exceedingly  slow;  his 
record  on  the  pictorial  completion  test  indicates  that  he 
required  at  least  twice  the  amount  of  time  that  is  or- 
dinarily needed  by  a  normal  person  of  Arthur's  age. 
When  the  task  was  completed,  however,  no  errors  were 
made.  It  was  interesting  to  compare  results  on  memory 
tests  for  logical  material  with  memory  span  and  to  inter- 
pret the  distinct  difference  that  was  found.  On  the 
former  far  better  results  were  achieved  than  on  the  latter. 
On  tests  for  logical  material,  the  reproduction  does  not 
follow  as  quickly  as  in  tests  for  memory  span.  The  sub- 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN   MENTAL  PROCESSES        147 

ject  reads  the  passage  as  slowly  as  he  wishes  when  pres- 
entation is  visual,  and  when  it  is  auditory  the  passage 
is  read  to  him  several  times.  But,  in  testing  the  memory 
span  the  reproduction  is  immediate,  the  numbers  being 
read  but  once  and  the  visual  stimulus  exposed  but  ten 
seconds. 

Given  sufficient  time,  Arthur  showed  normal  ability 
to  analyze  and  reason,  but  in  all  tests  where  time  is 
considered  significant,  the  results  were  distinctly  poor. 
On  the  very  easy  substitution  test,  two  errors  were  made 
on  the  first  trial  and  none  on  the  second,  indicating  the 
exceeding  slowness  with  which  associations  of  arbitrary 
symbols  were  formed.  The  Kraepelin  test  was  performed 
without  error,  but  very  slowly  and  deliberately.  In  the 
attempt  to  open  the  puzzle  box,  the  boy  studied  the 
situation  for  five  minutes  before  making  the  first  move, 
after  which  the  task  was  completed  very  rapidly.  Some 
tests  which  he  failed  to  solve  in  the  laboratory  he  worked 
out  by  pondering  over  them  until  the  examination  of  the 
next  day.  Tests  requiring  the  use  of  language  revealed 
also  Arthur's  characteristic  slowness  of  mental  reaction. 
All  were  ultimately  correct,  but  he  was  slow  both  in 
comprehending  a  situation  presented  verbally  and  in 
expressing  his  own  ideas.  It  was  quite  surprising  to 
find  that  this  boy  of  good  education  and  coming  from  a 
home  of  culture  should  have  much  trouble  in  forming  a 
sentence  containing  three  assigned  words  or  in  stating 
clearly  distinctions  between  a  king  and  a  president.  In 
school  work  he  did  very  poorly,  especially  arithmetic, 
where  even  addition,  though  done  correctly,  took  a  very 
great  deal  of  time.  Errors  were  made  in  multiplication 
and  division. 

If  the  performances  are  carefully  analyzed,  it  is  found 
that  this  boy  is  not  lacking  in  any  of  the  higher  thought 
processes.  He  shows  good  powers  of  analysis  and  mental 


148      PSYCHOLOGY   OF   ABILITIES   AND   DISABILITIES 

representation,  reasoning,  planfulness,  and  fairly  good 
mental  control.  The  extreme  slowness  with  which  the 
mental  processes  function  is  the  most  striking  feature  of 
all  his  work.  His  inability  to  use  language  well,  to  ex- 
press his  own  ideas  in  clear  and  forceful  form,  probably 
is  due  to  his  inability  to  formulate  his  ideas  quickly. 
Perhaps  if  his  answers  had  been  written  and  he  had  been 
able  to  revise  them,  taking  as  much  time  as  he  desired, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  problems  he  solved  overnight,  he 
might  have  been  able  to  prove  that  he  has  good  ability 
in  this  direction  too. 

He  was  said  to  have  walked  and  talked  at  a  much 
later  age  than  other  members  of  the  family;  develop- 
mental history  in  other  ways  was  entirely  negative. 
Not  until  a  year  previously  was  it  known  that  the  boy 
had  defective  vision  in  one  eye.  As  for  his  education, 
he  had  been  sent  to  the  very  best  of  private  schools ;  he 
had  been  tried  three  times  in  the  public  schools,  but 
was  always  unable  to  succeed  there.  The  boy  himself 
said  that  he  liked  arithmetic  pretty  well,  but  could  never 
succeed  in  it,  and  that  he  "never  was  any  good"  in  his- 
tory or  grammar. 

No  doubt  this  boy  would  be  at  great  disadvantage 
everywhere  in  the  ordinary  classroom  when  competing 
with  students  who  have  no  special  disabilities.  Defective 
vision  could  hardly  have  been  the  important  factor,  for 
such  tests  as  the  association  and  other  language  tests 
would  not  have  been  affected  thereby.  If  he  required 
much  more  time  to  perform  mental  operations  than  the 
average  child,  of  course  he  would  naturally  be  regarded 
as  quite  unable  to  do  many  things  on  which  he  failed, 
not  through  lack  of  real  capacity,  but  because  of  the 
insufficient  time  allowed  him. 

Whether  much  might  have  been  done  to  stimulate 
this  boy  and  train  him  so  that  he  could  think  more  quickly 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL   PROCESSES        149 

is  an  interesting  question,  but  one  we  cannot  answer. 
We  are  sure  that  the  ordinary  schoolroom  emphasizes 
the  tune  of  the  reactions  as  well  as  accuracy,  and  this  is, 
doubtless,  as  it  should  be.  Where,  however,  there  is  a 
particular  lack  of  ability  to  react  promptly,  what  can 
be  done  to  improve  the  situation?  Ought  a  person  of 
whom  this  slowness  is  characteristic  to  be  taught  under 
the  same  conditions  that  succeed  with  the  ordinary  child  ? 
If  no  allowance  is  made  for  the  mental  peculiarity,  can 
one  expect  the  child  to  develop  without  discouragements 
that  must  impede  his  progress  all  the  more?  It  is  evi- 
dent that  retardation  under  ordinary  school  methods  is 
inevitable.  The  results  of  falling  back  would  be  likely 
to  be  much  more  serious  in  producing  depression  and 
discouragement  in  the  case  of  a  person  really  normal 
than  would  be  true  if  there  were  general  mental  defect. 
Sensibilities  and  emotions  being  as  in  the  ordinary  in- 
dividual, consequences  might  be  disastrous  indeed. 

In  the  case  of  Arthur  we  felt  that  it  was  sound  advice 
to  suggest  that  he  be  trained  for  an  occupation  that  re- 
quires no  swift  reactions.  Some  types  of  manufacturing 
or  of  laboratory  work,  or,  still  better,  agriculture  in  any 
one  of  its  diverse  forms,  would  be  suitable  as  a  life  work. 
In  some  such  pursuit  his  really  good  intelligence  would 
be  likely  to  lead  to  success. 

DEFECTS  IN  PERCEPTUAL  ABILITIES 

Individual  differences  in  sensory  and  perceptual  powers 
are  clearly  shown  by  many  experiments  with  various 
problems  in  these  fields.  Discrimination  of  weight,  color, 
form,  length  of  line,  etc.,  have  been  studied,  as  well  as 
many  other  types  of  tactile,  visual,  auditory,  and  other 
perceptions.  Capacity  in  these  processes,  from  whatever 
standpoint  they  are  considered,  varies  greatly.  Disability 


150      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

extreme  enough  to  be  denominated  a  defect  refers  in  this 
discussion,  of  course,  to  conditions  that  do  not  rest  on 
the  basis  of  defective  sensory  organs,  but  are  due  to  some 
lack  of  functioning  in  the  central  nervous  system. 

From  the  practical  standpoint  such  defects  are  of  vital 
significance  in  relation  to  the  activities  of  everyday  We, 
where  perceptual  discriminations  of  all  sorts  are  con- 
stantly demanded.  But  the  fact  is  that  in  spite  of  much 
experimentation  we  do  not  know  the  thresholds  below 
which  disability  in  perceptual  powers,  auditory,  visual, 
or  for  stimuli  of  other  types,  becomes  important  as  condi- 
tioning failure  in  educational  and  vocational  life.  The 
correlation  between  such  defects,  more  or  less  extreme, 
and  mental  activities,  such  as  the  school  subjects  and 
industrial  occupations  represent,  have  been,  as  yet, 
little  studied  and  are  almost  undetermined.  But  that 
such  defective  powers  lie  at  the  root  of  some  school  and 
vocational  failures  we  have  learned  from  experience. 

Only  the  following  case-history  is  cited,  because  defects 
in  visual  and  auditory  perceptions  have  been  dealt  with 
under  other  headings;  this  case  presents  disability  in 
other  perceptions. 

Case  29.  Agnes  Z.,  8  years  old,  was  brought  from  an 
eastern  city  for  study  because  it  had  already  been  found 
that  she  could  not  be  taught  by  ordinary  methods.  She 
had  been  tried  in  the  public  schools,  but  without  success, 
and  her  parents  very  wisely  recognized  that  in  order  to 
succeed  with  her,  they  ought  to  know  her  problem  and 
learn  the  best  methods  of  coping  with  it. 

In  spite  of  the  reported  difficulty  in  learning,  we  found 
on  psychological  examination  that  this  girl  could  not 
be  regarded  as  an  out-and-out  mental  defective ;  by  the 
Binet  scale  she  was  just  one  year  retarded,  but  this  meant 
little  that  was  helpful  in  understanding  her  mental 
make-up.  The  interesting  fact  revealed  by  Binet  and 


SPECIAL   DEFECTS  IN   MENTAL   PROCESSES        151 

even  more  clearly  by  other  tests  was  the  unevenness  of 
abilities,  for  some  things  were  done  extremely  well  and 
others  equally  as  poorly.  Young  as  she  was,  certain 
results  on  tests  gave  clues  that  could  be  seen  to  be  most 
important  from  the  standpoint  of  her  further  education. 

Sensory  discrimination  and  perceptions  were  very  good 
as  related  to  color,  but  extremely  poor  for  form  and 
relationships  of  form.  Whereas  she  readily  distinguished 
the  colors  and  combined  the  pieces  of  a  picture  puzzle 
test  when  the  picture  was  a  colored  one,  she  had  great 
difficulty  in  doing  an  analogous  task  when  not  assisted 
by  the  element  of  color;  that  is,  when  she  had  to  rely 
upon  form.  She  was  unable  to  solve  even  the  simpler 
of  the  construction  tests,  and  she  was  quite  unsuccessful 
in  remembering  the  solution;  she  learned  to  put  the 
pieces  properly  into  place  only  after  she  had  been  shown 
how  to  do  so  repeatedly.  Perceptions  of  weight  were 
very  faulty  too;  she  could  not  select  the  heavier  of  two 
weights,  one  weighing  three,  the  other  twelve  grams. 

Although  memory  for  form  relationships  was  so  notably 
poor,  she  had  an  unusually  good  rote  memory  for  verbal 
material.  She  memorized  poems  rapidly,  having,  how- 
ever, a  great  deal  of  difficulty  in  giving  the  meaning  of 
the  selection.  She  had  learned  in  the  same  way  number 
combinations,  but  had  not  the  slightest  concept  of  num- 
ber. She  could  add  a  series  of  digits,  but  could  not 
perform  the  same  steps  with  stamps  or  money,  nor  reason 
on  the  basis  of  the  number  combinations  which  she  knew. 
Her  memory  for  language  was  far  better  than  her  ability 
to  use  language  as  a  medium  of  expression.  In  the  one 
case  she  was  rather  above  her  age,  as  determined  by 
psychological  tests,  and  in  the  others  she  was  quite 
below  the  standard  for  her  age. 

Her  powers  of  apperception  were  unusually  good. 
She  showed  quite  good  common  sense  for  her  years, 


152      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

readily  grasped  the  situations  presented  in  various  tests, 
and  showed  normal  appreciations  of  what  constitutes 
good  social  behavior.  She  interpreted  pictures  well, 
showing  here,  too,  normal  perceptions  of  colors  and  ob- 
jects. As  for  other  disabilities,  we  found  that  she  had 
much  trouble  with  psychomotor  control,  as  indicated  by 
tests  and  by  her  great  difficulty  with  the  writing  of  letters 
and  numbers. 

The  results  of  the  training  in  school  work  which  she 
had  received  were  exceedingly  interesting.  She  could 
read  fluently,  but  had  some  little  difficulty  in  giving  the 
meaning  of  what  she  read.  She  could  spell  quite  well, 
but  her  writing,  as  above  mentioned,  was  quite  illegible. 
She  had  acquired  quite  a  little  general  information  and 
much  in  the  way  of  poetry,  which  she  recited,  however, 
in  parrot-like  fashion.  She  could  add  correctly,  but 
even  this  had  no  real  meaning  for  her.  No  doubt  she 
would  not  have  learned  as  much  as  this  except  for  the 
very  good  individual  instruction  which  was  being  given 
her.  For  about  a  year  she  had  been  under  the  direction 
of  a  special  teacher,  but  the  latter  had  not  undertaken 
to  make  any  definite  diagnosis  of  mentality,  basing  work 
merely  on  experience  with  what  was  and  what  was  not 
successful. 

The  practical  problem  in  this  case  was  to  determine 
the  educational  possibilities  and  the  methods  to  be  em- 
ployed. It  will  be  readily  understood  that  Agnes  needed 
a  great  deal  of  training  in  form  perception,  which  prob- 
ably she  could  obtain  less  well  by  working  with  flat 
surfaces  than  with  solid  objects.  We  advised  that  she 
learn  to  use  a  scroll-saw  and  develop  her  perception  of 
form  by  putting  together  parts  of  pictures  which  she 
herself  had  cut  out.  Appreciation  of  form  relationships 
needed  developing,  which  could  well  be  done  through 
various  games.  In  connection  with  this,  there  would 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN   MENTAL  PROCESSES        153 

naturally  come  some  special  training  in  motor  control. 
Perhaps  even  her  writing  would  be  more  improved  by 
general  training  for  psychomotor  control  than  by  practice 
in  that  particular  activity.  Many  devices,  of  course, 
could  be  employed  for  this  purpose.  Then,  too,  she 
needed  to  be  trained  to  use  language  as  a  medium  for 
the  expression  of  her  own  ideas.  For  this  there  are  numer- 
ous devices  which  would  give  her  practice.  The  ability 
to  perceive  rational  relationships  and  logical  connection 
between  things  would  no  doubt  develop  with  more  train- 
ing and  experience  and  with  increasing  maturity  of  mental 
powers. 

In  her  school  work  it  is  the  meaning  of  what  is  read 
that  should  be  emphasized,  and  the  number  concepts 
brought  out  that  lie  back  of  addition  and  subtraction 
and  the  other  processes  of  arithmetic.  Rote  memory, 
in  which  she  excels,  would,  of  course,  be  called  into  play 
constantly,  the  danger  being  that  she  would  rely  upon  it 
too  much.  It  is  just  such  powers  that  often  obscure  the 
fact  that  ideas  are  not  really  mastered.  By  stressing  the 
rational  phases  of  activities  and  leading  her  to  acquire 
an  interest  in  them,  no  doubt  she  would  develop  more 
initiative  in  regard  to  work,  both  in  school  and  out  of  it. 
Of  course,  this  little  girl's  naturally  good  powers  in  cer- 
tain directions  should  also  be  utilized,  but  they  are,  in 
general,  of  such  a  character  that  they  would  always  be 
bound  to  come  into  play,  whereas  her  disabilities  might 
be  unrealized  simply  because  facility  on  the  basis  of 
memory  would  carry  her  along  quite  well  for  many  pur- 
poses. To  know  just  wherein  this  girl  is  lacking  and 
inhere  she  needs  particular  help  and  training  ought  to 
lean  much  for  the  success  of  her  education.  Naturally, 
the  putting  of  such  advice  into  practice  requires  an  in- 
telligent and  well-trained  teacher,  one  who  can  appreciate 
the  psychological  aspects  of  the  case,  and  who  has  skill 


154      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

and  ingenuity  in  devising  means  for  applying  the  prin- 
ciples involved. 

From  the  intelligent  mother  we  obtained  a  very  good 
account  of  heredity  and  developmental  conditions.  The 
former  was  entirely  negative.  There  had  been  some 
antenatal  difficulty,  the  mother  not  being  well  during  the 
pregnancy.  Agnes  weighed  only  three  and  one  half 
pounds  at  birth  and  for  a  long  time  afterwards  was  badly 
nourished.  At  six  months  she  weighed  only  four  or  five 
pounds,  but  by  the  tune  she  was  a  year  old,  nourishing 
food  had  been  found,  and  she  became  quite  normal  in 
weight.  She  suffered  from  numerous  illnesses;  at  six 
weeks  she  had  a  severe  attack  of  pneumonia,  at  four 
years  she  was  very  ill  with  measles,  and  at  six  years  had 
typhoid  fever,  but  made  a  very  good  recovery.  She  did 
not  walk  or  talk  until  three  years  old.  Dentition  was 
late.  We  found  her,  at  eight  years  old,  physically  normal 
in  general  development,  and  all  examination  was  negative 
except  that  she  had  defective  vision  which  was  corrected 
by  glasses. 

DEFECTS  IN  THE  HIGHER  MENTAL  PROCESSES 

Defects  in  the  higher  mental  processes  must  be  dis- 
cussed, although  the  presence  of  such  defects  leads  one 
to  doubt  whether  the  individual  possessing  them  can  be 
regarded  as  sufficiently  normal  mentally  to  fall  within 
the  group  belonging  to  our  discussion,  namely,  normal 
individuals  with  special  defect.  Powers  of  apperception, 
reasoning,  judgment,  mental  representation,  and  foresight, 
are  naturally  criteria  of  intelligence  to  such  an  extent  that 
defects  in  these  aspects  of  mental  life  would  seem  to  in- 
dicate subnormality,  if  not  feeble-mindedness.  But  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  there  are  individuals  who  lack  some  one 
of  these  mental  powers,  yet  who  do  well  in  many  other 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL  PROCESSES        155 

tasks  not  involving  the  defect.  Frequently  there  is 
great  difficulty  in  deciding  whether  such  an  individual 
is  normal  or  subnormal ;  many  are  ultimately  designated 
as  "border-line."  Of  course,  as  we  have  already  stated, 
it  must  be  carefully  realized  that  apperceptions  or  reason- 
ing power  or  judgment  may  be  faulty  in  specialized  fields, 
owing  to  lack  of  experience  which  would  give  the  individual 
the  data  necessary  to  perform  these  mental  functions. 

Sometimes,  however,  a  person  proves  that  he  has  normal 
capacity  as  judged  by  his  social  reactions  or  by  the  re- 
sults on  ordinary  mental  tests,  and  yet  he  may  have  ex- 
tremely poor  ability  in  some  one  or  more  of  the  so-called 
higher  mental  powers,  even  in  relation  to  situations  with 
which  he  is  familiar.  He  may  not  be  keen  in  reasoning, 
or  his  judgment  may  not  be  good,  or  he  may  act  without 
prudence  and  foresight.  It  is  true  that  extreme  disability 
in  apperception  is  often  an  indication  of  aberrational 
tendencies,  but  even  normal  individuals  vary  greatly  in 
their  capacity  for  sizing  up  situations. 

^Yhile  we  cannot  here  cover  this  topic  of  our  problem 
thoroughly,  we  cite  several  cases  illustrating  defects  in 
higher  mental  powers.  Whether  the  individuals  can  be 
classified  as  of  normal  intelligence  may  sometimes  be 
open  to  question,  but  though  they  have  such  clearly  seen 
defects,  they  likewise  have  such  striking  abilities  in  many 
other  fields  that  they  are  more  properly  placed  in  this 
chapter  than  in  the  later  one  devoted  to  subnormal  in- 
dividuals with  special  abilities. 

Mental  representation:  In  the  case  given  below,  very 
poor  results  were  attained  on  many  tasks,  results  which 
we  believe  may  be  explained  by  extreme  disability  in 
powers  of  mental  representation.  Discussing  the  place  of 
this  mental  trait,  Healy  says,  "  The  ability  to  represent  in 
terms  of  various  imageries  a  given  situation  to  oneself, 
and  to  revolve  it  over  in  the  mind,  seeing  its  different 


156      PSYCHOLOGY   OF   ABILITIES   AND   DISABILITIES 

parts,  and  mentally  commenting  on  their  comparisons 
and  relationships,  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  human 
faculties."  1 

Case  30.  The  defective  power  of  mental  representation 
is  here  coupled  with  great  lack  in  visual  imagery. 

Leonard  B.,  17  years,  11  months  old,  was  brought  us 
for  study  by  his  mother,  a  very  intelligent  woman,  be- 
cause he  was  not  succeeding  in  school  work.  He  had 
been  attending  school  since  six  years  old.  He  had  had 
tutors  at  various  times,  some  of  them  very  good  teachers, 
"but  they  never  made  anything  of  him."  In  spite  of 
having  had  private  instruction  for  an  entire  year,  in  the 
hope  of  preparing  him  for  high  school,  the  boy  was  not 
able  to  maintain  his  position  in  the  seventh  grade.  He 
was  not  a  delinquent,  but  his  family  had  supplied  him 
with  many  wholesome  interests  which  had  done  much 
to  prevent  a  growth  of  harmful  tendencies. 

The  psychological  examination  presented  a  most  com- 
plex problem,  for  the  results  in  general  were  exceedingly 
irregular,  many  tests  being  done  very  well,  and  others, 
readily  performed  by  much  younger  children,  were  in 
some  instances  poorly  done  and  in  others  complete  failures. 
The  problem  here  becomes  one  for  analysis.  We  must 
try  to  find,  if  possible,  what  mental  processes  are  involved 
in  the  successes  and  failures  in  order  to  determine  if  they 
throw  any  light  on  the  boy's  inability  to  progress  at 
school. 

Analysis  of  successful  records  shows  that  Leonard  did 
very  well  on  tests  with  concrete  material,  that  his  per- 
ceptions of  form  and  form  relationships  were  normal,  or 
above.  He  succeeded  on  construction  tests,  working 
promptly  and  understandingly.  Once  such  problems 
were  solved,  he  gained  by  his  own  experience;  he  per- 
formed them  the  second  time  much  more  rapidly,  showing 
1  Healy,  William.  "The  Individual  Delinquent."  1914. 


SPECIAL   DEFECTS   IN   MENTAL   PROCESSES        157 

that  he  had  grasped  the  principles  involved  and  that  he 
remembered  them.  He  showed,  too,  ability  to  reason 
concerning  any  problems  thus  presented,  solving  them  by 
rational,  planful  methods.  Psychomotor  control  was 
likewise  good ;  in  all  phases  of  manual  work  he  had  un- 
usually good  ability.  By  Binet  tests  he  graded  as  normal, 
and  on  school  work  he  had  no  difficulty  with  reading  and 
writing.  He  talked  well  concerning  things  in  which  he 
was  interested  and  had  distinctly  good  apperceptions, 
both  as  required  on  tests  and  regarding  his  own  disabilities. 
The  tests  on  which  he  failed  seemed  on  the  surface  to 
be  quite  unlike  each  other.  They  were  those  to  test 
powers  of  mental  analysis  and  mental  representation, 
ability  to  form  new  associations  between  arbitrary  sym- 
bols, ability  to  follow  directions  after  the  experimenter 
has  shown  the  steps  of  the  process,  as  in  the  instructions 
box.  Results  on  tests  for  memory  indicated  variability 
in  the  different  aspects ;  rote  memory  for  auditory  pres- 
entations was  normal,  auditory  memory  for  logical 
material  could  scarcely  be  considered  either  exceptionally 
good  or  poor;  about  two  thirds  of  the  passage  was  re- 
called. But  visual  memory  was  astonishingly  poor.  The 
boy  could  not  draw  from  memory  a  simple  figure  seen 
over  and  over  again,  nor  could  he  make  a  recognizable 
representation  of  so  simple  an  object  as  an  ink  bottle. 
Having  been  shown  the  figure  used  in  the  cross  line  test, 
consisting  of  two  parallel  vertical  lines  and  two  parallel 
horizontal  lines,  he  could  not  draw  the  figure  correctly. 
In  the  adult  Binet  tests  where  mental  representation  is 
required,  as  for  example  in  reconstructing  the  triangles, 
Leonard  failed  completely.  Almost  all  work  in  arithmetic 
was  quite  beyond  his  ability.  He  could  add  and  subtract 
correctly,  but  he  could  neither  multiply  nor  divide ;  and 
the  addition  of  fractions  was  a  complete  failure.  More 
striking  still  was  the  fact  that  in  very  simple  problems 


158      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

he  could  state  the  reasoning  required  in  the  solution,  but 
could  not  carry  out  the  process.  Thus,  given  such  an 
example  as,  If  one  dozen  apples  cost  fifty-four  cents,  how 
much  will  eight  apples  cost  ?  he  quickly  said,  "  You  must 
find  the  cost  of  one  and  then  get  eight  times  that  amount," 
yet  he  could  not  give  the  answer.  In  continuous  sub- 
traction, taking  seven  from  one  hundred  orally,  he  made 
six  errors.  On  other  school  work  it  was  found  that  his 
spelling  was  poor  and  his  knowledge  of  geography  slight. 
Comparing  now  the  failures  and  successes,  we  are  at 
once  impressed  by  the  contrast  presented.  Inability  to 
handle  the  abstract  as  compared  with  his  successful 
achievements  with  concrete  material  is  striking.  In  an 
effort  to  explain  the  poor  records  made  on  various  tests, 
let  us  analyze  still  further  the  functions  required.  Is 
one  justified  in  concluding  that  the  great  lack,  as  seen  in 
the  case  of  this  boy,  is  the  power  of  mental  representation  ? 
It  would  seem  as  though  his  failure  in  tasks  apparently 
very  different  might  indicate  a  lack  of  ability  to  represent 
to  himself  mentally,  either  in  visual  or  other  form,  the 
successive  steps  in  a  process.  His  inability  to  follow 
directions  when  six  or  seven  steps  are  demanded,  and 
his  failure  on  such  a  test  as  that  for  continuous  subtrac- 
tion, might  both  be  due  to  a  lack  of  ability  in  mental 
representation.  There  is,  too,  obvious  defect  in  visual 
memory  which  may  be  a  large  feature  in  his  inability  to 
represent  to  himself  the  task  in  hand,  particularly  when 
the  transformation  into  terms  other  than  visual  is  diffi- 
cult. This  might  account  for  his  failure  in  spelling, 
where  he  shows  difficulty  in  mental  representation  of 
words  which  had  been  presented  to  him  probably  in  their 
visual  form,  and  his  inaccuracy  in  geography  could  be 
accounted  for  in  the  same  way.  The  latter,  we  note,  was 
never  presented  to  him  except  by  the  usual  methods,  that 
is,  by  the  use  of  flat  maps  interpreted  largely  in  visual 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN   MENTAL  PROCESSES        159 

terms  and  appealing  to  memory  through  visual  represen- 
tation. 

No  facts  of  significance  regarding  heredity  were  ob- 
tained from  the  intelligent  mother,  whose  account,  no 
doubt,  was  altogether  reliable.  Developmental  history 
was  negative.  There  were  only  mild  illnesses,  and  no 
physical  disabilities  of  any  kind  were  noted  at  the  tune 
of  our  examination. 

Considering  Leonard's  distinct  disability  for  handling 
abstractions  and  his  equally  distinct  ability  in  working 
with  concrete  material,  it  seems  reasonable  to  infer  that 
the  methods  of  instruction  which  had  been  employed  in 
his  case  had  not  been  adapted  to  his  mental  make-up. 
His  training  should  have  been  largely  along  manual  lines. 
No  doubt  he  might  have  succeeded  well  in  any  of  the 
practical  applied  sciences  which  involve  the  use  of  ma- 
chinery or  other  kind  of  apparatus.  Even  the  ordinary 
school  work  might  have  been  mastered  with  a  far  greater 
degree  of  success  had  the  presentations  been  through 
concrete  means.  Indeed,  we  are  sure  of  this  from  the 
results  of  teaching  geography  to  Leonard  for  a  couple  of 
months  along  the  lines  we  prescribed.  He  acquired 
"  more  than  he  had  learned  in  his  whole  life  before." 

Perceptions  of  relationship:  Some  psychologists  have 
included  in  their  enumeration  of  the  various  mental 
processes  the  group  of  functions  designated  as  feelings 
or  perceptions  of  relationship.  In  general  we  may  dis- 
tinguish between  objective  relationships,  such  as  those 
of  space  and  form,  and  subjective  relationships,  such 
as  likeness,  equality,  cause  and  effect,  and  other  logical 
relations.  It  is  quite  possible  that  defects  may  exist  in 
either  one  or  the  other  and  even  in  both  these  subdivisions. 
If  there  can  be  specialized  defect  for  time  sense,  as  seems 
likely  from  the  peculiarities  noted  in  cases  of  aberration 
where  time  orientation  is  often  exceedingly  poor,  for  in- 


160      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

stance,  in  Korsakow's  syndrome,  we  should  say  that  it 
is  a  specialized  defect  in  the  realm  of  perception  of  objec- 
tive relationships.  The  same  conclusion  would  be  true 
in  regard  to  a  possibly  defective  sense  of  form.  In  contra- 
distinction, defects  concerning  subjective  relationships 
would  affect  reasoning,  and,  indeed,  all  logical  thinking. 

Case  31.  In  the  following  case  is  seen  defect  for  per- 
ceptions of  relationship,  both  objective  and  subjective; 
we  find  here  inability  to  perceive  relationships  as  they 
exist  in  both  concrete  and  abstract  problems. 

Julian  M.,  14  years  of  age,  often  a  truant  and  a  great 
mischief  maker  in  school,  was  studied  on  the  mental  side 
with  much  care,  because  of  the  great  irregularities  that 
were  found  in  the  results  on  different  tests.  The  boy's 
educational  advantages  had  been  good.  He  had  been 
in  several  public  schools  and  more  recently  in  an  expensive 
private  school,  known  for  its  thoroughness  and  successful 
achievements. 

Judged  by  general  intelligence  tests  the  boy  graded  as 
normal;  he  passed  through  the  twelve-year  Binet  tests 
without  any  failures.  In  school  subjects  he  was  up  to 
grade  in  reading,  writing,  and  spelling.  No  unusual 
features  were  detected  in  any  of  these  subjects.  He  did 
well  on  the  test  for  learning  ability  as  evidenced  in  form- 
ing associations  between  arbitrary  symbols.  Memory 
processes  were  normal,  both  for  rote  and  logical  material. 
He  was  able  to  follow  directions/  making  quite  a  good 
record  on  special  tests  for  this,  nor  had  he  any  difficulty 
with  tests  for  analysis  and  mental  representation  where 
the  relationships  were  explicitly  shown  him. 

On  the  other  hand,  he  failed  badly  on  all  other  tests 
requiring  perceptions  of  relationship,  either  in  abstractions 
or  in  the  concrete.  He  showed  poor  powers  of  reasoning 
and  little  foresight  when  the  latter  was  a  factor  in  tests, 
and  his  apperceptive  ability,  as  gauged  in  the  laboratory, 


SPECIAL   DEFECTS   IN   MENTAL   PROCESSES        161 

was  notably  poor  for  a  boy  of  his  age.  He  did  not  succeed 
in  solving  the  simplest  puzzles  which  require  recognition 
of  relationships  of  form.  On  tests  presented  in  concrete 
form  he  used  purely  random  methods.  Thus,  in  the 
opening  of  the  so-called  puzzle  box  his  record  was  ex- 
tremely poor;  he  studied  the  box  a  long  tune,  quite 
unable  to  plan  any  mode  of  procedure,  finally  adopting 
a  method  that  was  purely  trial  and  error.  Indeed,  he 
made  many  errors  which  reason  or  even  quick  perception 
would  have  made  impossible.  On  the  pictorial  completion 
test  the  errors  made  were  significant  not  only  because  of 
their  number,  but  even  more  because  of  their  type.  He 
showed  great  lack  of  ability  to  select  pieces  which  bore 
sensible  relationships  to  the  incidents  depicted  in  this 
test.  He  played  a  poor  game  of  checkers,  taking  no  ad- 
vantage of  obvious  chances,  although  he  maintained  he 
had  played  this  game  frequently.  He  did  not  grasp  the 
principle  of  the  code  test  until  elaborate  explanations 
were  given,  after  which  he  was  able  to  cope  with  the 
test  fairly  well.  Not  only  was  he  poorly  informed,  but 
events  were  poorly  placed  and  quite  unrelated  in  time. 
Thus,  he  informed  us  that  the  fourth  of  July  was  cele- 
brated as  Washington's  birthday ;  that  Lincoln,  who  was 
a  president  of  the  United  States  about  one  hundred  years 
ago,  lived  during  the  Revolutionary  War.  Asked  regard- 
ing the  capitol  of  this  country,  he  replied,  "The  capitol  of 
Chicago  is  the  White  House." 

On  school  subjects  he  was  exceedingly  deficient  in 
arithmetic,  although  in  this  he  had  been  given  much 
training.  He  added  four-place  numbers  correctly,  but 
very  slowly.  He  failed  entirely  on  an  example  in  long 
division.  He  had  been  studying  fractions  for  some  time 
at  school  and  was  having  drill  in  them  at  the  time  we 
saw  him,  yet  he  failed  on  the  simplest  examples  of  this 
type.  Nor  did  he  succeed  better  when  reasoning  prob- 


162      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

lems  were  assigned  him;  thus,  he  could  not  tell  how 
much  three  and  one  half  pounds  would  cost  if  two  and 
one  half  pounds  cost  forty-five  cents.  This  was  true  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  the  school  which  he  was  then  at- 
tending stressed  number  work  particularly. 

His  disability  in  the  perception  of  relationships,  in 
apperception,  and  reasoning  would  hardly  seem  to  ac- 
count for  his  failure  in  arithmetic  on  the  rote  side,  but 
back  of  this  might  have  existed  an  unusual  difficulty  in 
acquiring  the  concept  of  number,  due  to  his  general  de- 
fect for  appreciating  relationships.  Certain  it  is  that  in 
spite  of  very  good  instruction  of  the  usual  kind,  he  has 
learned  comparatively  little  in  this  field.  What  he  might 
have  gained,  had  there  been  a  recognition  of  his  peculiar 
mental  make-up,  is  a  matter  of  conjecture.  One  wonders 
what  the  results  might  have  been  had  a  special  effort  been 
made  to  have  him  acquire  the  concept  of  number  by  con- 
crete experience,  emphasizing  the  idea  of  relationship. 
Had  the  underlying  principles  been  grasped,  perhaps  his 
good  memory  powers  would  then  have  been  of  great 
assistance  in  this  realm  as  elsewhere. 

In  their  bearing  on  behavior,  Julian's  disabilities  were 
exceedingly  important.  This  boy's  family  had  decided 
that  he  should  become  an  accountant.  They  were  keep- 
ing him  in  an  expensive  school  with  this  in  view,  yet  it 
was  just  this  type  of  work  which  was  most  difficult  for 
him;  indeed,  it  was  practically  impossible  for  him  to 
do  it  well.  On  his  part  there  was  intense  dislike  of  school, 
which,  no  doubt,  was  a  factor  in  the  truancy  and  incorrigi- 
bility  for  which  he  was  noted.  Furthermore,  this  lack  of 
understanding  on  the  part  of  his  family  led  to  irritation 
at  home. 

It  may  be  difficult  to  determine  what  type  of  employ- 
ment this  boy  is  best  fitted  for;  however  that  may  be, 
we  can  readily  reach  the  negative  conclusion  that  for 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN   MENTAL   PROCESSES        163 

some  types  of  work  he  is  undoubtedly  not  suited.  Of 
course,  he  was  but  fourteen  when  we  saw  him  and  was 
in  need  of  further  education,  but  here,  too,  the  problem 
arises  as  to  the  methods  and  subjects  by  which  he  would 
profit  most.  No  doubt,  it  would  require  much  ingenuity 
to  plan  in  detail  a  course  of  study  for  this  boy,  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  would  be  quite  worth  while,  both  for 
him  and  for  any  educator  who  wished  to  learn  more  con- 
cerning some  intricate,  but  very  practical  problems  of 
pedagogy. 

Other  Disabilities:  The  above  presentation  does  not 
include  all  possible  mental  disabilities,  partly  because  in 
the  present  state  of  limited  knowledge  this  can  not  be 
done.  Among  school  subjects  has  been  omitted  the 
group  of  informational  studies,  such  as  history  and  geog- 
raphy, because  it  is  evident  that  the  mental  traits  in- 
volved in  learning  these  subjects  are  those  that  have 
already  been  considered. 

Some  mental  processes  have  already  been  discussed  in 
connection  with  the  more  complex  activities  in  which 
they  are  elements.  Thus,  in  presenting  defects  in  number 
work,  as  well  as  defects  in  reading,  I  have  noted  poor 
powers  of  auditory  perceptions,  defective  auditory  mem- 
ory, especially  for  numbers,  defective  visual  memory, 
extreme  inability  to  form  arbitrary  associations,  and 
defects  in  powers  of  analysis  and  synthesis.  It  would  be 
just  as  logical,  though  probably  not  as  helpful,  to  have 
discussed  these  processes  just  here,  but  certainly  there  is 
no  need  to  retrace  the  same  ground.  Certain  mental  func- 
tions not  yet  enumerated  must  be  mentioned,  however. 

First,  in  regard  to  attention.  Defects  in  this  aspect  of 
mental  life  will  not  be  illustrated ;  attention  is  a  function 
of  general  applicability  and  a  factor  in  all  performance. 
As  already  indicated  earlier,  in  the  chapter  on  Differ- 
ential Diagnosis,  poor  powers  of  concentration  and  applica- 


164      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

tion  frequently  are  concomitants  of  physical  and  nervous 
disorders.  Then,  too,  attention  varies  so  largely  with  the 
interest  that  is  felt  in  various  subjects  that  it  is  difficult  to 
interpret  lack  of  it  seen  in  the  laboratory  as  a  real  defect. 

Distractibility  may  be  studied  by  tests  designed  for  the 
purpose,  or  judgment  may  be  based  upon  general  ob- 
servations. In  either  case  it  can  only  be  stated  that  in- 
attention was  noted  at  such  and  such  times  and  for  such 
and  such  work.  Teachers  often  render  the  verdict  that 
a  child  is  progressing  unsatisfactorily,  not  because  of 
general  dullness,  but  because  of  inability  to  "pay  atten- 
tion." There  are  two  cautions  necessary  in  such  inter- 
pretations; on  the  one  hand,  the  inattention  may  not 
be  as  evident  on  the  playground  or  elsewhere  as  in  the 
schoolroom,  that  is,  the  difficulty  may  not  be  with  atten- 
tion, but  with  interest.  In  the  second  place,  sometimes 
the  verdict  is  altogether  false,  and  the  child  is  inattentive 
because  he  is  an  out-and-out  mental  defective.  We  have 
known  more  than  one  instance  of  such  erroneous  judgment. 
Here  the  lack  of  attention  is  only  the  natural  consequence 
of  inability  to  participate  in  the  schoolroom  activities, 
and  is  not  in  any  sense  evidence  of  a  specialized  defect. 
Hence  the  greatest  care  is  necessary  in  reaching  a  diagnosis 
regarding  defect  in  powers  of  attention  and  persistence.1 

Nor  have  individual  differences  which  may  exist  in 
artistic  endeavors  been  touched  upon.  From  everyday 
experience  one  can  hardly  doubt  that  there  are  extreme 
variations  in  these  fields;  whether  we  are  dealing  with 

1  Studies  dealing  with  the  problem  of  attention  are  too  numerous  to 
mention  in  detail.  However,  the  reader  might  here  be  referred  to  a 
discussion  of  the  entire  question  by  Alfred  Mann.  ("Zur  Psychologic 
und  Psychographie  der  Aufmerksamkeit."  Zeitschrift  fur  Angewandte 
Psychologic,  Vol.  8,  1914.)  This  author  presents  a  detailed  analysis 
of  the  factors  that  enter  into  attention  and  offers  an  elaborate  psycho- 
gram  for  use  in  the  study  of  any  individual's  powers  of  attention.  While 
he  refers  to  adults,  the  plan  is  possible  for  the  study  of  attention  in  chil- 
dren of  school  age. 


SPECIAL  DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL  PROCESSES        165 

drawing,  painting,  dancing,  singing,  or  instrumental 
music,  the  range  extends  from  the  talented  to  those  ex- 
ceedingly incapable.  While  unusual  gifts  in  any  of  the 
arts  is  a  matter  of  great  practical  significance,  defects 
lead  to  maladjustments  that  are  not  often  brought  to 
the  clinical  psychologist  for  aid.1 

Defects  in  imagination  and  inventive  ability  also  are 
exceedingly  complex,  and  while  defects  in  these  powers 
no  doubt  lead  to  important  consequences,  little  is  known 
of  the  practical  implications  other  than  common-sense 
conclusions.  There  are  few  tests  with  established  norms, 
and  experience  has  not  enabled  us  to  make  any  definite 
generalizations.  These  powers  are  so  interwoven  with 
mental  representation,  foresight,  and  other  processes 
already  mentioned,  that  they  are  difficult  to  differentiate. 

While  individual  differences  in  learning  ability  are 
found,  some  people  learning  very  much  more  readily 
than  others,  the  term  "learning  ability"  is  too  inclusive 
to  allow  any  general  distinctions  to  be  helpful.  Extreme 
defect  in  learning  ability,  —  or  rather  defect  beyond  a 
certain  degree,  —  is  an  indication  of  general  defect  or 
feeble-mindedness.  Consideration  of  defects  in  learning 
ability  for  special  types  of  material  leads  to  the  very 
problems  that  have  been  discussed  throughout  this  book. 
The  author's  general  point  of  view  may  best  be  stated  by 
saying  that  defect  in  learning  ability  rests  upon  inadequate 
functioning  of  specific  mental  processes,  and  that  to  dis- 
cover which  process  or  processes  are  at  fault  is  the  crux 
of  the  problem  of  specialized  defect. 

1  While  it  is  hardly  in  place  to  cite  the  literature  concerning  the  arts, 
it  may  be  mentioned  that  quite  a  good  deal  of  experimentation  has  been 
carried  on  in  the  field  of  music.  There  are  the  studies  of  Seashore 
("The  Measurement  of  a  Singer",  Science,  February,  1912)  and  of 
Hans  Rupp  ("  tJber  die  Priifung  Musikalischer  Fahigkeiten."  Zeitschrift 
fur  angewandte  Psychologie,  Vol.  9,  1915),  who  has  discussed  in  detail, 
methods  for  testing  recognition  of  pitch,  intervals,  melody,  harmony, 
time,  rhythm,  etc. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL  CONTROL 

THE  psychological  elements  in  the  background  of  volun- 
tary reactions  can  be  quite  clearly  analyzed.  In  general, 
control  of  actions  is  dependent  upon  control  of  the  mental 
states  leading  to  actions.  Both  emotions  and  ideas  have 
a  very  vital  relationship  to  behavior.  Almost  all  emo- 
tions tend  to  arouse  action,  while  the  chief  restraining 
forces  lie  in  the  realm  of  ideas.  Without  entering  into 
any  discussion  of  vexed  points  concerning  "the  will", 
it  may  fairly  be  said  that  defective  powers  of  control  of 
actions  may  be  due,  on  the  one  hand,  to  inability  to  re- 
press the  feelings,  that  is,  to  lack  of  emotional  control; 
and,  on  the  other,  to  failure  to  arouse  inhibiting  ideas. 
From  this  it  may  be  seen  that  defective  power  of  control 
involves  both  emotional  and  ideational  or  volitional 
aspects  of  mental  life. 

The  practical  issues  with  which  we  are  here  concerned 
are  recognition  of  the  existence  of  this  type  of  defect 
and  of  the  need  that  arises  for  adjustment  of  social  con- 
ditions to  meet  the  responses  that  such  defect  calls  forth. 
For,  though  the  general  topic  of  inhibition  finds  a  place 
in  most  textbooks  on  psychology,  a  rather  minor  place 
it  must  be  acknowledged,  and  though  some  practical 
workers  have  recognized  the  lack  of  normal  powers  of 
inhibition  as  a  situation  with  which  to  reckon,  yet  the 
fact  that  defect  in  control  may  be  an  innate  characteris- 

166 


DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL   CONTROL  167 

tic  has  received  almost  no  recognition  by  psychologists, 
nor  is  it  appreciated  by  many  who  deal  intimately  with 
human  beings. 

A  moment's  reflection  should  convince  any  one  that 
special  defect  in  control  of  actions  is  a  phenomenon  no 
more  peculiar  than  is  disability  of  any  other  type.  The 
power  to  awaken  inhibiting  ideas  and  to  keep  such 
thoughts  in  the  foreground  of  consciousness  so  that  they 
may  become  effective,  is  a  power  as  truly  characteristic 
of  mental  life  as  is  the  capacity  for  recalling  past  experi- 
ence or  for  performing  any  other  mental  function.  Then, 
too,  there  are,  no  doubt,  inborn  differences  in  the  inten- 
sity of  the  emotions  as  well  as  in  the  capacity  for  resist- 
ing emotions,  impulses,  and  desires.  Situations  appar- 
ently the  same  are  in  reality  quite  unlike  for  different 
people,  arousing  feelings  so  varied  and  of  such  different 
degrees  of  intensity  that  the  reactions  arising  there- 
from represent  necessity  for  widely  varying  degrees  of 
control. 

Davenport  has  called  individuals  showing  such  defect 
in  powers  of  control  "the  feebly  inhibited",  under  which 
caption  he  has  included  three  groups ;  those  who  display 
violent  temper,1  those  of  a  hyper-  or  of  a  hypo-kinetic 
temperament,  and  those  who  have  a  tendency  towards 
nomadism.2  His  interest  lies  chiefly  in  determining  the 
heritability  of  such  characteristics  and  the  modes  of  their 
inheritance.  The  general  explanation  of  all  these  so-called 
types  of  uncontrolled  behavior,  according  to  this  author, 
is  "possibly  a  paralysis  of  the  inhibitory  mechanism." 
These  findings  cannot  here  be  reviewed  critically;  that 

1  Davenport,  C.  B.,  "The  Feebly  Inhibited:   Violent  Temper   and 
Its  Inheritance."     Journal  of  Nervous  and  Mental  Diseases,  September, 
1915. 

2  Davenport,   C.   B.,   "The   Feebly   Inhibited:     Nomadism   or  the 
Wandering  Impulse  with  Special  Reference  to  Heredity.1'     "Carnegie 
Institute  Publication",  536. 


168      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

would  carry  us  too  far  afield ;  but  his  studies  of  the  sub- 
ject have  strengthened  Healy's  contention  that  there  are 
individuals  who  show  innate  defects  in  mental  control. 

What  the  inhibitory  mechanism,  the  neural  basis  of 
inhibition,  may  be  is  discussed  in  all  textbooks  dealing 
with  physiological  psychology.  The  general  opinion  is 
that  nervous  impulses  are  converted  into  inhibition  as 
truly  as  into  other  types  of  action,  for  action  is  restraint 
as  well  as  movement.  "  In  the  mental  world,  we  may  sup- 
pose that  the  action  of  the  nervous  system  may  be  to 
check  as  well  as  to  arouse  a  sensation  or  idea.  .  .  .  We 
are  men  and  not  brutes  because  the  neurons  concerned 
with  the  ideational  and  moral  life  keep  in  subjection  and 
counteract  the  direct  impulses  to  action  of  the  neurones 
concerned  with  greed,  lust,  cruelty,  and  hatred.  We 
reason  and  do  not  simply  day-dream,  because  we  can 
check  foolish,  irrelevant  fancies  —  can  inhibit  all  ideas 
that  do  not  lead  on  to  the  desired  goal."  l  In  thinking, 
at  least  in  purposive  thinking,  we  inhibit  and  eliminate 
unfit  thoughts;  we  select  and  reject  in  accord  with  a 
purpose. 

Whether  or  not  it  is  some  flaw  in  the  neural  mechanism 
that  accounts  for  defects  in  mental  control  and  whatever 
theories  of  inheritance  of  feeble  inhibition  may  prove 
true,  the  fact  remains  that  the  problems  which  arise  in 
the  case  of  individuals  defective  in  control  are  extremely 
practical.  Those  who  have  dealt  extensively  with  delin- 
quents are  familiar  with  the  characteristics  of  this  type 
of  individual,  their  inability  to  resist  temptations,  their 
extreme  bad  temper,  angry  threats,  and  violent  reac- 
tions.2 

Following  are  some  examples  illustrating  this  kind  of 
defect : 

1  Thorndike,  E.  L.,  "The  Elements  of  Psychology."     1905. 
*For  further  discussion,  see  Healy,  "The  Individual  Delinquent." 


DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL  CONTROL        169 

Case  32.  Social  reactions  and  mental  tests  both  clearly 
reveal  defective  powers  of  control  in  the  case  of  this 
girl,  otherwise  quite  normal  mentally  and  physically. 

Alice  J.,  131  years  old,  was  brought  to  us  by  her  mother, 
who  stated  that  she  was  having  a  great  deal  of  difficulty 
in  controlling  the  girl.  The  mother  herself  proved  to  be 
a  very  intelligent  woman  of  good  judgment  and  much 
force  of  character.  She  gave  a  fairly  good  account  of 
heredity  and  developmental  history,  as  well  as  of  the 
troubles  which  she  had  experienced  with  her  daughter. 

The  problem  which  Alice  presented  was  entirely  one 
of  behavior.  She  had  a  good  record  for  scholarship, 
but  her  deportment  had  been  so  objectionable  that  she 
had  been  expelled  from  school  three  times.  She  was  said 
to  be  quarrelsome  with  the  children  and  extremely  rest- 
less in  class.  In  each  of  the  schools  she  attended  —  she 
had  been  changed  frequently  —  she  had  been  a  source 
of  much  trouble  because  of  her  peculiarly  mischievous 
actions.  All  together  she  proved  so  annoying  that  the 
public  schools  refused  to  accept  her  again,  and  she  was 
even  refused  the  use  of  one  of  the  city  playgrounds. 
Her  mother  complained  that  Alice's  erraticism  was 
extreme.  She  would  leave  home  and  ask  any  stranger 
that  she  met  for  carfare  or  ask  to  be  taken  to  a  theatre. 
On  one  occasion  she  had  visited  a  friend  and  while  left 
alone  in  the  room  had  opened  a  desk  and  read  the  papers 
which  it  contained.  The  family  complained  that  the 
evenings  at  home  were  almost  intolerable  because  of  this 
girl's  restlessness  and  because  they  never  could  count 
upon  what  she  was  going  to  do  next.  She  had  almost  a 
mania  for  dressing  herself  up  and  acting  a  part.  In  the 
mother's  own  words,  "Alice  dresses  up  so  frequently  and 
changes  about  so  much  that  it  has  gotten  on  the  nerves 
of  the  whole  family."  She  never  remained  interested  in 
any  one  thing  for  long;  if  she  began  to  embroider  she 


170      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

would  soon  stop  to  begin  something  else  in  which  she 
would  be  interested  for  equally  as  short  a  time. 

Alice  was  said  to  be  unlike  any  member  of  the  family. 
The  heredity,  so  far  as  we  could  learn,  was  negative. 
There  was  said  to  be  no  mental  trouble  of  any  kind. 
Special  effort  was  made  in  this  instance  to  discover  any 
facts  regarding  the  family  history  which  might  have  a 
bearing  upon  the  situation.  Both  parents  had  always 
been  healthy,  except  that  the  mother  was  greatly  worried 
during  this  pregnancy  because  of  financial  reverses  that 
her  husband  suffered.  For  more  than  a  month  she  was 
in  bed  then  because  of  some  sort  of  exhaustion,  but  we 
were  unable  to  obtain  any  accurate  diagnosis  of  what 
this  trouble  was.  The  two  older  sisters,  already  married 
when  we  saw  Alice,  were  said  to  be  bright  and  normal  in 
every  way,  and  a  younger  brother  of  nine  had  the  repu- 
tation of  being  one  of  the  brightest  boys  in  the  school 
he  attended.  There  had  been  no  difficulties  of  conduct 
with  them. 

The  later  developmental  history  regarding  Alice  was 
negative.  She  was  said  never  to  have  been  severely  ill. 
When  an  infant  she  had  fallen  and  struck  her  head,  but 
was  said  not  to  have  been  unconscious.  There  was,  how- 
ever, history  of  very  frequent  enuresis  continued  until 
she  was  eleven  or  twelve  years  old.  Our  examination 
revealed  little  of  significance.  There  were  no  signs  of 
nervous  disturbance.  The  girl  was  normally  developed 
and  well  nourished.  There  were  no  sensory  defects  of 
any  kind.  The  mother  insisted  that  the  lack  of  self- 
control  was  already  noticeable  when  Alice  was  only 
three  years  of  age. 

The  psychological  examination  showed  numerous  pecul- 
iarities, both  on  test  results  and  on  incidental  reactions. 
We  soon  were  convinced  that  Alice  had  quite  good  innate 
ability.  The  simpler  tests  which  could  be  done  rapidly 


DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL  CONTROL        171 

were  done  correctly.  Construction  tests  were  solved  by 
trial  and  error  method.  She  showed  little  deliberation 
before  beginning  a  test,  starting  pell-mell,  trying  almost 
anything,  but  showing  a  capacity  to  profit  by  her  own 
errors.  The  record  on  the  apperception  tests  was  nor- 
mal, and  she  did  the  learning  tests  readily.  The  poorest 
results  were  obtained  on  the  tapping  test,  where  very 
defective  psychomotor  control  was  shown.  Either  she 
worked  very  slowly,  or  when  an  effort  was  made  to  in- 
crease speed  many  errors  were  made.  On  memory  tests 
there  was  quite  a  difference  between  those  for  rote  mem- 
ory and  logical  passages.  The  former  were  done  quite 
well,  the  latter  very  poorly.  It  was  evident  that  this  was 
due  to  poor  powers  of  attention  and  lack  of  steadiness  of 
purpose.  Many  of  the  items  were  omitted,  many  changes 
were  made,  and  there  was  no  adherence  to  logical  se- 
quence. In  school  work  she  was  fairly  well  advanced, 
showing  ability  to  do  well  the  work  of  the  seventh  grade. 
More  striking  than  test  results  was  her  behavior  on  the 
several  occasions  when  we  ourselves  had  an  opportunity 
to  observe  her.  In  the  laboratory  Alice  was  never  quiet 
long.  She  handled  constantly  any  of  the  material  with- 
in reach,  and  was  playing  with  one  thing  or  another 
incessantly.  She  showed  extreme  curiosity,  but  even 
this  wavered ;  before  she  had  examined  any  one  object 
thoroughly  she  had  already  picked  up  something  else. 
This  poor  control  in  attention  was  evident  in  test  work 
too ;  in  the  beginning  she  would  look  at  the  examiner, 
apparently  paying  very  close  attention,  but  sometimes, 
when  half  through  a  task,  her  mind  seemed  to  wander 
and  she  centered  her  attention  on  something  else.  On 
the  emotional  side  she  was  equally  uncontrolled.  Once 
during  the  testing  she  grasped  the  examiner  quite  con- 
vulsively and  began  to  sob,  explaining  this  by  the  fact 
that  a  question  asked  her  had  recalled  some  unpleasant 


172      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

experience.  A  moment  later  she  was  laughing  in  regard 
to  some  other  idea  which  had  been  suggested  to  her. 

Dismissed  from  the  room  for  a  few  moments  while 
her  mother  was  being  consulted,  she  came  back  crying 
because  she  had  seen  a  little  girl  who  had  no  mother. 
She  wanted  immediately  to  take  this  girl  home.  Soon, 
however,  she  was  laughing,  quite  forgetful  of  her  new 
friend's  bad  fortune.  Later  we  were  informed  that  while 
she  was  out  of  the  room  she  had  investigated  all  the  cabi- 
nets in  the  outer  office,  had  walked  down  the  hall  of  the 
building  in  which  the  laboratory  is  situated,  talking  to 
every  one  she  met.  We  ourselves  soon  witnessed  her  in- 
ordinate curiosity  and  her  uncontrolled  manner  of  inves- 
tigating everything  in  her  vicinity;  she  peered  into  the 
desk  and  other  places,  sitting  still  for  only  a  minute  or 
two  at  a  tune.  In  her  conversation  she  was  rather 
flighty,  giving  statements  that  were  not  to  be  relied  upon. 
She  told  us  that  her  parents  were  Protestant  and  imme- 
diately after  said  they  were  not. 

We  were  unable  to  find  any  hidden  conflict  or  worry. 
In  spite  of  her  forward  manner  and  extreme  friendliness 
in  approaching  strangers  she  had  not  met  with  any  bad 
experiences,  and  whatever  she  had  heard  from  bad  com- 
panions left  her  mind  as  fast  as  it  entered,  according  to 
the  mother,  with  whom  Alice  seemed  to  have  a  very  nice 
and  confidential  relationship. 

We  have  here,  then,  a  girl  normal  as  regards  intelli- 
gence, but  decidedly  defective  in  self-control.  In  every 
way  she  shows  her  lack  in  normal  powers  of  inhibition. 
Her  mental  processes  seem  totally  uncontrolled,  her 
word  is  unreliable,  she  will  say  anything  that  comes 
into  her  mind.  As  for  her  emotions,  they  are  volatile, 
changing  from  moment  to  moment,  and  thoroughly  un- 
stable. Her  behavior  at  school  and  at  home  clearly 
indicates  the  fact  that  the  girl  acts  upon  any  impulse 


DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL  CONTROL  173 

that  presents  itself.  She  does  not  inhibit  these  even 
when  they  lead  to  conduct  which  she  knows  will  injure 
her.  In  spite  of  coming  from  a  cultured  home,  the  girl 
was  poorly  informed  and  showed  a  paucity  of  mental 
interests,  the  lack  quite  possibly  being  the  result  of  her 
flighty  mental  processes.  Taking  into  account  the  his- 
tory given  by  the  mother  and  the  officer  who  knew  the 
case  well,  the  observations  of  her  general  behavior,  her 
conversation,  and  her  work  on  psychological  tests,  one 
could  only  conclude  that  this  was  a  case  of  defect  in  mental 
control,  and  that  there  was  no  evident  physical  basis 
for  it. 

The  seriousness  of  this  defect  and  the  social  signifi- 
cance of  it  are  very  apparent.  Such  a  girl  might  easily 
get  into  any  kind  of  trouble  on  the  city  streets.  Her 
behavior  is  so  unaccountable,  she  is  so  much  the  victim 
of  her  own  impulses,  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  pre- 
dict what  might  or  might  not  occur.  Only  one  of  two 
things  offer  themselves  in  such  a  case :  The  girl  could  be 
placed  in  a  special  institution  for  nervous  children  where 
her  environment  would  be  controlled  and  where  perhaps 
she  could  be  given  good  discipline,  or  the  parents  would 
have  to  endeavor  to  exert  this  discipline  themselves, 
aiding  her  in  every  way  to  acquire  self-control.  In  this 
instance  the  mother  was  a  very  capable  woman  and  a 
good  disciplinarian.  It  was  advised  that  the  family 
move  out  to  the  suburbs,  where  it  would  be  quieter  and 
safer  for  the  girl,  and  that  the  mother  keep  close  watch 
over  her.  It  seemed  quite  possible  that  with  advancing 
age  and  her  own  better  understanding  of  the  problem, 
the  girl  might  develop  stronger  powers  of  inhibition. 

Since  we  first  studied  this  case  we  have  received  fre- 
quent reports.  The  erratic  type  of  behavior  has  not 
altogether  ceased,  but  gradually  there  has  been  improve- 
ment, and  now,  after  a  lapse  of  two  years,  Alice  has 


174      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

entered  high  school  and  has  a  fair  record  there.  She  is 
said  to  be  still  quite  uncontrolled,  and  her  word  is  not 
regarded  as  altogether  reliable,  but  her  peculiar  reactions 
are  less  extreme,  and  she  is  becoming  more  conscious  of 
their  import  and  making  an  effort  to  control  herself 
better. 

Case  33.  Here  defect  in  control  of  actions  rests  prob- 
ably on  an  unstable  nervous  organization  due  to  many 
early  illnesses.  In  this  case  lack  of  mental  control  is 
plainly  shown  on  tests. 

Morgan  G.,  14  years  old,  had  been  brought  to  us  with 
a  query  as  to  what  could  be  done  for  the  boy.  The  offi- 
cer who  was  interested  in  the  case  felt  that  he  would  not 
be  accepted  again  in  school,  since  his  record  there  had 
been  so  unsatisfactory.  He  was  said  by  his  teachers  to 
be  extremely  troublesome.  He  was  restless,  into  petty 
mischief,  and  so  flighty  and  erratic  in  his  general  be- 
havior that  some  teachers  had  considered  him  feeble- 
minded. He  had  only  reached  the  third  grade.  It  was 
reported  that  he  did  no  work  in  school  unless  constantly 
watched.  For  a  short  period  after  leaving  school  he  had 
tried  to  get  employment,  but  employers  would  not  keep 
him.  They  said  that  the  boy  was  erratic  and  exceedingly 
talkative,  and  too  uncontrolled  in  his  general  behavior. 
While  Morgan  had  never  been  an  extreme  delinquent, 
yet  he  had  proven  troublesome  everywhere.  The  mother 
made  the  same  type  of  complaint  regarding  him,  but  she 
herself  was  compelled  to  work  away  from  home  all  day 
and  probably  had  never  exercised  very  good  oversight  or 
discipline. 

In  regard  to  heredity,  very  little  was  known  about  the 
boy's  father  or  the  father's  family.  The  father  had  died 
before  this  child  was  born,  and  the  mother  had  never 
even  met  her  husband's  relatives.  As  for  her  family, 
there  was  no  history  of  any  mental  trouble,  except  that,  of 


DEFECTS   IN   MENTAL  CONTROL  175 

fourteen  siblings,  one  developed  epilepsy  and  later  in- 
sanity. 

The  mother  had  not  been  well  during  the  pregnancy, 
and  when  the  child  was  born  instruments  were  used,  and 
the  head  was  much  marked.  The  mother  maintained 
that  a  scar  was  visible  until  he  was  about  ten  years  old, 
but  no  indications  of  any  head  injury  were  apparent  at 
the  time  of  our  physical  examination.  As  a  baby  he  was 
sickly,  had  marasmus,  and  weighed  only  seven  pounds 
when  thirteen  months  old.  He  had  frequent  convulsions 
from  the  first  to  the  tenth  month  but  none  later.  He 
suffered  from  many  illnesses,  pneumonia  three  times, 
measles,  diphtheria,  and  whooping  cough.  He  first  walked 
and  talked  when  between  two  and  three  years  old. 

When  we  saw  the  boy  we  found  him  to  have  several 
poor  physical  conditions,  though  his  general  development 
was  good,  and  he  was  well  nourished.  His  vision  was 
somewhat  defective,  tonsils  were  moderately  enlarged, 
there  was  a  severe  valvular  lesion  with  slight  enlarge- 
ment of  the  heart.  There  were  no  nervous  disorders  of 
any  kind.  He  had  bright  eyes  and  quite  normal  expres- 
sion. 

Mental  examination  was  interesting  and  significant. 
In  the  laboratory  Morgan's  general  characteristics,  as 
given  by  his  teacher,  his  mother,  and  the  probation  offi- 
cer, were  quite  apparent.  He  seemed  restless,  ever  on 
the  alert,  anxious  to  begin  a  test  before  complete  direc- 
tions had  been  given,  persistent  in  his  efforts  for  a  short 
time,  and  then  unable  to  give  very  close  attention. 
Where  tests  particularly  required  good  mental  control 
he  had  much  difficulty,  and,  once  confused  regarding  the 
solution  of  a  problem,  he  became  hopelessly  lost.  There 
was  a  very  marked  difference  in  the  performance  of  tests 
of  different  types.  He  did  all  the  Binet  tests  through 
twelve  years  satisfactorily  and  without  any  trouble, 


176      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

showing  on  these  and  other  tests  that  he  was  normal  in 
his  general  ability.  The  more  difficult  construction  test 
was  done  without  any  trouble,  whereas  in  doing  the 
simpler  one  he  became  much  confused  and  failed  entirely 
to  solve  it.  When,  however,  it  was  given  him  again 
about  an  hour  later,  he  solved  it  immediately  by  a  very 
rational  process.  We  found  nothing  peculiar  in  his  mem- 
ory processes  nor  in  his  general  powers  of  apperception. 
On  the  other  hand,  all  tests  for  mental  control  were 
performed  poorly.  He  showed  extreme  difficulty  in  the 
control  of  his  verbal  associations ;  in  giving  the  opposites 
to  simple  words  the  time  varied  considerably  from  word 
to  word.  Again,  on  the  continuous  subtraction  test,  he 
showed  even  more  strikingly  this  characteristic  lack  of 
mental  control.  He  was  utterly  unable  to  subtract 
seven  continuously  from  one  hundred,  although  able  to 
perform  much  more  difficult  work  than  this  in  written 
arithmetic  of  the  ordinary  type.  When  endeavoring  to 
subtract  by  fours  from  forty-one  he  began  very  well,  but 
after  a  few  seconds  he  found  it  so  difficult  to  keep  his 
mind  upon  the  problem  that  he  made  most  absurd  fail- 
ures and  eventually  had  to  subtract  by  ones,  counting 
backwards  until  he  had  subtracted  four  numbers.  Doing 
this,  he  made  no  error  in  subtraction  until  he  reached  the 
number  twenty-five,  after  which  he  said  "four  from 
twenty-five  is  twenty,  four  from  twenty  is  twenty- 
eight",  and  no  one  other  combination  after  this  was 
correct.  He  realized  that  he  was  incorrect,  but  in  spite 
of  an  effort  to  do  better  he  steadily  grew  worse.  Nor 
did  the  boy  show  good  psychomotor  control.  In  the  tap- 
ping test  he  was  both  slow  and  inaccurate. 

As  for  his  school  work,  we  found  that  he  was  able  to  do 
long  division,  that  he  wrote  simple  sentences  quite  well, 
and  could  read  about  a  third-grade  passage  with  good 
expression,  although  in  a  rather  jerky  manner.  It  was 


DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL  CONTROL        177 

quite  evident  that  he  was  able  to  master  the  ordinary 
school  subjects,  and  that  the  low  grade  he  had  reached 
must  therefore  have  been  due  to  the  disciplinary  features 
of  the  case.  We  have  no  doubt  that  his  defect  in  con- 
trol of  his  mental  processes  interfered  very  seriously  with 
his  school  life  and  was  also  the  explanation  of  his  erratic, 
uncontrolled  behavior.  The  boy  was  not  at  all  vicious. 
He  was  a  friendly  lad,  who  apparently  wished  to  do  his 
best  and  to  get  on  with  people,  but  the  peculiarities  of 
his  mental  processes  were  such  that  it  was  difficult  for 
him  to  behave  like  the  average  child. 

It  can  well  be  imagined  that  such  a  boy  would  present 
a  difficult  problem  in  the  ordinary  classroom.  In  group 
work  with  others  he  would  no  doubt  be  the  source  of  a 
good  deal  of  commotion  and  be  regarded  by  his  teachers 
as  a  nuisance.  His  very  friendliness,  coupled  with  his 
lack  of  self-control,  made  him,  no  doubt,  the  great  talker 
that  he  was  reputed  to  be.  These  characteristics  would 
be  a  great  handicap  in  ordinary  kinds  of  employment. 
In  most  of  the  positions  available  in  the  city,  particularly 
such  as  an  uneducated  boy  could  fill,  his  innate  traits 
would  be  most  undesirable. 

We  later  had  a  striking  example  of  this  boy's  typical 
reactions.  Upon  our  recommendation  that  his  eyes  and 
throat  be  examined  by  specialists  he  was  taken  to  a 
hospital,  where  his  tonsils  were  removed.  Then  he  was 
returned  to  the  institution  in  which  we  had  studied  the 
case.  The  nurse  in  charge  found  him  a  most  trying 
patient  during  his  convalescence.  He  was  ever  into  some 
mischief,  was  most  difficult  to  keep  occupied  and  quiet, 
and  one  day  having  lost  her  patience,  the  nurse  had  re- 
marked—  not,  of  course,  seriously  —  "You  are  just  too 
bad  to  live,  you  are  such  a  lot  of  trouble."  The  idea  of 
dying  having  been  suggested  to  the  boy,  he  thereupon 
really  endeavored  to  commit  suicide  by  strangling  him- 


178      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

self.  From  a  later  conversation  with  him  we  learned  that 
the  boy  had  not  been  at  all  despondent,  nor  desirous  of 
ending  his  life;  the  idea  of  suicide  having  come  to  him, 
he  did  not  control  or  inhibit  the  thought,  but  acted  speedily 
upon  it. 

It  is  difficult  to  offer  a  prognosis  in  the  case  of  this  lad. 
Of  course,  he  should  have  all  the  help  possible  in  correc- 
tion of  his  physical  disabilities,  and  we  advised  that  after 
this  was  done  he  be  placed  at  a  farm  school,  where  he 
would  have  some  academic  training,  but  where  a  good 
part  of  his  day  would  be  spent  in  open-air  activities. 
The  greatest  hope  lies  in  bettering  his  physical  condi- 
tions and  in  developing  his  apperceptions  of  his  own 
difficulties,  so  that  he  can,  and  perhaps  will,  make  a 
greater  effort  to  control  himself. 

Case  34.  We  have  here  an  illustration  of  defective 
powers  of  inhibition  correlated  with  poor  mental  and 
psychomotor  control  as  indicated  by  results  on  tests. 
In  this  case  the  physical  conditions  were  splendid. 

Henry  B.,  17  years  old,  had  been  in  the  United  States 
six  or  seven  years,  having  come  from  a  country  district 
in  Austria.  He  had  learned  English  quite  well,  had  pro- 
gressed satisfactorily  at  school,  and  when  we  knew  him 
was  in  coart  for  the  first  time.  He  had  been  brought  to 
us  by  his  parents,  who  maintained  that  they  could  not 
tolerate  him  at  home  because  of  his  violent  temper.  He 
behaved  so  badly  that  there  had  been  several  complaints 
of  disturbance  made  by  the  neighbors.  His  general  in- 
corrigibility  had  increased  until  recently  he  had  thrown 
his  father  to  the  floor  and  was  in  the  act  of  beating  him 
when  the  police  were  called. 

We  learned  that  the  boy  had  been  a  source  of  disturb- 
ance in  the  home  for  a  long  time,  but  he  had  not  been 
guilty  of  any  other  type  of  misconduct  than  that  shown 
there.  All  complaints  had  been  of  the  same  character, 


DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL  CONTROL       179 

namely,  about  his  exceeding  violence,  his  high  temper, 
and  his  inability  to  get  along  with  people.  Later  we 
came  to  know  about  this  boy's  behavior  in  a  very  good 
secondary  school  to  which  he  had  been  sent.  He  got  in 
various  petty  troubles  with  classmates,  and  finally  was 
asked  to  leave  because  of  his  fighting  and  quarrelsome- 
ness. 

We  found  this  boy  to  be  immensely  big  and  broad 
shouldered,  overdeveloped  physically  and  premature  in 
sex  development.  Except  for  slight  tremor  of  out- 
stretched hands,  the  physical  findings  were  negative. 

The  main  characteristic  shown  on  psychological  tests 
was  his  exceeding  lack  of  mental  control.  Considering 
the  fact  that  he  had  not  attended  school  in  his  native 
land,  he  had  done  well  here  in  book  work.  He  had  com- 
pleted the  sixth  grade  and  then  had  gone  to  a  private 
school,  where  his  record  for  scholarship  was  fair  enough. 
Noting  in  detail  his  work  on  psychological  tests,  we  found 
that  he  did  construction  tests  very  well.  The  so-called 
cross  line  tests  for  mental  analysis  were  done  correctly; 
the  pictorial  apperception  test  was  also  well  done,  no 
illogical  errors  being  made.  He  graded  as  normal  on 
Binet  tests.  His  memory  powers  were  good  and  tests 
for  reasoning  were  likewise  satisfactorily  performed. 
He  followed  simple  directions  well,  but  made  a  rather 
poor  record  on  the  difficult  directions  test,  where  perhaps 
the  "catches"  were  not  recognized  because  the  wording 
of  them  would  be  quite  involved  for  one  whose  knowledge 
of  English  was  not  particularly  'good. 

In  contradistinction  to  the  number  of  things  on  which 
he  did  well,  the  results  on  tests  for  mental  control  were 
very  poor  indeed.  The  record  on  the  tapping  test  was 
poor  both  for  speed  and  accuracy;  control  of  verbal 
associations  was  notably  lacking;  the  reactions  on  the 
opposites  test  were  irregular,  there  were  quite  a  few  errors 


180 

made  and  the  time  varied  greatly  from  word  to  word. 
In  the  continuous  subtraction  test  numerous  peculiarities 
were  noted.  The  more  difficult  portion,  at  least  where 
the  numbers  involved  are  larger,  was  correctly  done,  but 
as  he  went  on,  the  boy  became  confused  and  himself 
said,  "I  get  mixed  up."  In  each  of  three  efforts  many 
errors  were  made. 

In  his  general  reactions  while  working  with  tests,  we 
noted  the  same  lack  of  control.  He  was  most  eager  to 
make  a  good  record.  He  was  very  talkative  while  he 
was  working,  but  his  remarks  were  not  always  relevant. 
He  would  say  one  thing  when  he  meant  another,  correct 
himself,  and  at  times  become  almost  incoherent.  Later, 
in  telling  the  story  of  the  troubles  which  led  to  his  arrest, 
he  became  quite  excited  and  less  coherent  than  ever. 

Neither  the  hereditary  nor  the  developmental  history 
is  well  known  in  regard  to  Henry,  the  parents  in  their 
broken  English  gave  a  rather  meager  account,  but  the 
type  of  difficulties  in  which  he  has  been  involved  is  inter- 
esting in  the  light  of  the  findings  on  tests  alone.  It  can 
readily  be  seen  from  even  our  brief  statement  that,  al- 
though this  boy  is  fairly  well  endowed  in  intelligence  and 
rather  unusually  well  endowed  physically,  he  cannot  be 
regarded  as  altogether  normal  in  regard  to  his  mental 
life.  Here  the  defect  is  clearly  one  of  control.  It  seems 
clear  that  there  is  distinct  relationship  between  this 
lack  of  mental  control  and  his  social  behavior. 

Case  35.  The  following  is  an  instance  of  defective 
powers  of  inhibition  where  extreme  lack  of  control  of  the 
emotions  is  shown,  but  no  abnormal  reactions  were  found 
on  tests  for  mental  control. 

Celia  K.,  17  years  old  when  first  seen,  had  been  brought 
into  court  for  sex  delinquency.  She  was  held  awaiting 
trial,  but  a  short  time  before  it  was  perceived  by  all  who 
came  in  contact  with  her  that  she  was  an  extremely 


DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL  CONTROL        181 

troublesome  girl,  difficult  to  manage.  From  the  super- 
intendent, school  teacher,  and  various  attendants  came 
similar  bad  reports.  Celia  frequently  had  periods  of 
violent  temper  lasting  two  or  three  hours,  during  which 
she  appeared  capable  of  almost  any  misconduct.  On 
one  occasion  she  broke  the  panel  of  a  door  to  pieces; 
in  the  schoolroom  she  threw  articles  of  furniture  about, 
quarreled  with  the  girls,  became  easily  angered,  and 
when  angry  expressed  herself  in  the  coarsest  of  language. 
Following  a  period  of  this  kind  she  was  generally  found 
quivering  and  white.  She  herself  said  that  after  she  had 
been  excited  and  given  way  to  her  temper  she  felt  faint 
and  weak,  that  during  her  excitement  she  actually  did 
not  know  where  she  was  part  of  the  tune. 

Celia  showed  herself  on  all  occasions  to  be  extremely 
self-willed.  She  freely  acknowledged  her  own  wilfulness, 
and  when  it  was  explained  to  her  that  her  conduct  would 
result  in  injury  to  her  own  case,  she  merely  replied  she 
did  not  care  what  happened  to  her  and  that  she  would 
do  as  she  pleased.  In  the  court  room  she  behaved  very 
badly,  creating  a  disturbance  by  her  lack  of  self-control. 

Later  she  was  sent  to  a  correctional  institution  for 
girls.  There  she  soon  earned  a  reputation  in  consonance 
with  her  earlier  behavior  and  was  regarded  as  being 
insane.  Because  of  this  she  was  returned  for  further 
study.  When  discussing  the  situation  with  us,  she  be- 
haved in  a  most  foolish  manner,  refusing  to  view  the 
matter  as  anything  serious;  she  laughed  and  grinned 
much,  spoke  flippantly  and  exceedingly  volubly.  Her 
explanation  was  that  when  she  liked  people  and  they 
treated  her  well  she  got  on  without  trouble,  but  if  any 
one  treated  her  unjustly  or  harshly  she  lost  all  control  of 
herself,  and  said  and  did  things  for  which  she  felt  herself 
to  be  hardly  accountable.  Our  own  experience  showed 
that  even  her  likes  were  expressed  in  uncontrolled  fashion ; 


182      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

if  she  took  a  fancy  to  a  person  she  would  express  it  in  a 
very  demonstrative  manner. 

Later,  after  having  been  released  from  the  institution, 
Celia  returned  home,  but  before  long  proved  herself  un- 
controllable, became  once  more  involved  in  sex  delin- 
quencies, and  was  returned  to  the  court.  Thereupon 
she  was  again  sent  to  an  institution.  For  a  time  things 
went  very  well,  then  something  occurred  which  she  felt 
was  unjust  and  she  fought  so  strenuously  against  disci- 
pline that  was  meted  out  to  her  and  behaved  so  tempes- 
tuously that  once  more  she  was  placed  under  our  obser- 
vation for  mental  diagnosis.  At  this  time  the  girl  was 
in  a  very  serious  mood;  she  told  us  that  on  her  second 
commitment  she  had  resolved  to  make  great  efforts  to 
behave  herself  and  earn  a  good  record,  but  in  spite  of 
earnest  endeavor,  she  failed  under  unusual  stress. 

From  her  mother  we  learned  that  Celia  had  frequently 
been  untruthful  and  unreliable.  She  claimed  once  that 
she  was  working  when  this  was  not  true  and  had  invented 
a  story  altogether  fictitious  wThen  first  arrested.  Pre- 
viously she  had  run  away  from  home  without  any  par- 
ticular provocation.  She  had  always  been  regarded  as 
exceedingly  lazy.  After  leaving  school  she  did  not  wish 
to  work,  and  earlier,  while  still  attending  school,  she  had 
made  little  effort  to  learn.  We  were  never  able  to  obtain 
a  school  record  and  do  not  know  whether  Celia  was  a 
disciplinary  problem  there  or  not.  We  know  that  she 
was  not  interested  in  school  work,  that  she  took  little 
advantage  of  such  educational  opportunities  as  were 
offered  her,  but  this,  too,  may  have  been  due  to  her 
general  lack  of  self-control. 

The  facts  of  heredity  and  family  history  were  not  alto- 
gether satisfactorily  obtained,  for  the  mother  was  only 
fairly  intelligent  and  though  anxious  to  cooperate  she 
knew  little  concerning  her  husband's  family.  Both 


DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL  CONTKOL        183 

parents  were  foreign  born  and  poorly  educated.  Celia's 
father  had  not  worked  for  eleven  years.  He  claimed  to 
be  ill,  but  in  reality  he  was  probably  merely  lazy.  He 
had  been  alcoholic  previously.  The  mother,  who  had 
worked  for  a  number  of  years  in  order  to  support  the 
family,  was  apparently  a  good  woman.  We  could  learn 
of  no  mental  trouble  in  either  family.  Celia  had  walked 
and  talked  early,  had  been  a  healthy  child,  had  suffered 
no  illnesses  except  measles  when  ten  years  old.  The  phys- 
ical examination  showed  the  girl  to  be  exceedingly  big 
and  strong,  a  vivacious,  active  type.  Vision  was  somewhat 
defective,  teeth  very  badly  in  need  of  attention,  and  there 
was  a  partial  nasal  occlusion.  The  girl  complained  of 
headaches,  but  we  could  get  no  history  of  any  form  of 
attacks.  She  was  not  over-developed  in  physical  sex 
characteristics. 

As  for  psychological  examination,  the  results  were 
interesting  and  very  definite.  As  we  expected  from  what 
had  been  told  us,  we  found  that  Celia  could  do  little  in 
the  way  of  school  work.  Although  born  in  America, 
she  had  never  attended  English-speaking  schools,  and 
English  was  not  spoken  in  the  home;  aside  from  these 
disadvantages,  there  was  no  doubt  that  she  had  not 
endeavored  to  learn  and  might  have  gained  much  more 
from  routine  school  work  had  she  made  an  effort  to  do  so. 
She  understood  the  fundamental  processes  of  arithmetic, 
but  was  inaccurate  in  the  use  of  them.  She  could  write 
only  a  few  simple  words  and  her  reading  of  English  was 
exceedingly  poor.  She  failed  on  the  longer  words  of 
even  a  first-grade  passage ;  this  may  mean  little,  for  she 
had  received  little  training  in  English. 

On  the  other  hand,  she  graded  as  normal  by  Binet 
tests.  She  did  performance  tests  quite  well  and  showed 
normal  powers  of  apperception.  Even  on  tests  for  men- 
tal control  the  results  were  good,  but  it  must  be  remembered 


184     PSYCHOLOGY  OP  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

that  she  realized  the  import  of  the  examination,  under- 
standing full  well  that  our  verdict  regarding  her  mentality 
would  be  of  vital  importance  in  the  disposition  of  her  case. 
In  consequence,  no  doubt,  she  made  a  very  decided  effort. 
Besides  this,  she  was  friendly  in  her  attitude  towards  us, 
believing  that  we  were  desirous  of  helping  her.  Occa- 
sionally, with  all  her  effort  to  control  her  mental  processes, 
she  would  laugh,  or  rather  simper,  foolishly  during  the 
examination.  Her  powers  of  psychomotor  control  were 
not  good. 

Here,  again,  although  we  have  no  tests  for  quantita- 
tive measurement,  we  know  that  there  was  poor  emo- 
tional control.  Her  behavior  at  home,  during  detention, 
and  even  while  under  special  observation,  indicated  this. 
She  herself  realized  her  lack  of  self-control  and  was  able  to 
state  very  clearly  that  this  was  the  root  of  all  her  trouble. 

When  last  seen,  after  her  serious  difficulty  with  the 
institutional  authorities,  Celia's  attitude  had  changed 
greatly.  She  appreciated  the  fact  that  her  outbreaks  of 
temper  led  many  to  consider  her  aberrational,  and  that 
some  observers  had  suggested  her  transfer  to  a  State 
institution  for  the  insane.  In  consequence  she  seemed 
very  genuine  in  her  intentions  to  improve  her  conduct. 
She  herself  stated  that  it  would  be  a  hard  struggle  to 
master  her  temper  and  impulses,  but  she  hoped  that  per- 
haps she  might  succeed  in  achieving  better  control.  Of 
course,  we  felt  this  to  be  barely  possible  and  yet  feared 
that,  considering  the  innate  defect,  there  would  be  failure 
in  spite  of  good  resolutions. 

In  such  a  case  as  this  one  can  hardly  hope  for  a  tremen- 
dous change  in  reactions,  and  a  favorable  prognosis  is 
less  likely  in  the  light  of  too  few  mental  interests.  Of 
course,  Celia  is  not  altogether  incapable  and  even  at  her 
age  new  interests  might  be  awakened.  Then,  her  physi- 
cal defects  should  be  attended  to,  for  they  may  be  the 


DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL  CONTROL        185 

cause  of  some  irritation,  and,  above  all,  she  needs  outlets 
for  her  extreme  emotions.  She  is  so  big  and  strong  that 
she  really  requires  hard  manual  work  on  which  to  expend 
her  energies,  and  probably  farm  life  away  from  city 
temptations  and  offering  an  opportunity  for  abundant 
outdoor  occupations  would  give  her  the  best  chance  of 
mastering  herself. 

On  the  basis  of  long  observation  and  repeated  testing, 
we  could  never  reach  the  conclusion,  suggested  by  others, 
that  Celia  was  either  feeble-minded  or  insane.  Her  con- 
versation was  altogether  too  coherent  and  her  self-orien- 
tation and  apperception  of  her  own  innate  defects  too 
keen  to  warrant  one  in  believing  that  there  was  any 
aberration.  Rather,  her  conduct  had  to  be  explained  on 
the  basis  of  innately  poor  emotional  control. 

Case  36.  This  case  is  offered  because  the  behavior  of 
the  girl  indicates  so  clearly  the  innately  defective  powers 
of  control. 

Julia  D.  is  a  girl  whom  we  have  seen  repeatedly  over  a 
period  of  three  years.  When  we  first  knew  her  at  about 
15  years  of  age,  she  was  already  giving  much  trouble  and 
she  has  continued  to  be  incorrigible  up  to  the  present  time. 
She  was  first  brought  to  the  court  by  her  mother,  who 
declared  the  girl  could  not  be  controlled  at  home.  On 
several  occasions  she  had  run  away;  she  had  been  ex- 
ceedingly disobedient  and  quarrelsome.  Not  until  much 
later  did  the  girl  become  a  sex  delinquent,  but,  once  hav- 
ing begun  this  delinquency,  she  became  extreme  in  it. 
She  has  been  arrested  repeatedly.  During  the  three 
years  we  have  known  her  she  has  been  placed  on  proba- 
tion several  times  under  different  officers,  and  each  one 
of  them  has  felt  herself  unequal  to  cope  with  the  girl. 
So  undisciplined  and  uncontrolled  is  Julia  that  it  has 
been  suggested  more  than  once  that  she  must  be  insane, 
but  this,  as  we  shall  see  later,  was  shown  not  to  be  true. 


186      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

Held  in  detention  pending  her  appearance  at  court 
her  record  was  exceedingly  bad.  She  had  violent  spells 
of  temper.  On  one  occasion,  without  any  known  provo- 
cation, while  at  the  supper  table,  she  threw  a  cup  at 
another  girl.  At  times  she  refused  to  eat  with  the  others 
and  then  later  demanded  food  because  she  was  hungry. 
In  the  schoolroom  she  was  a  source  of  great  annoyance 
and  disturbance.  If  things  did  not  suit  her,  she  would 
throw  chairs  and  other  things,  and  once  she  lifted  a 
chair  to  strike  another  girl.  There  was  hardly  a  person 
in  the  girl's  department  with  whom  she  did  not  fight. 
She  was  notorious  for  her  use  of  bad  language. 

In  the  court,  where  it  surely  was  to  her  advantage  to 
control  herself  and  behave  properly,  she  showed  the  same 
kind  of  unfortunate  reactions.  When  a  suggestion  was 
made  which  did  not  meet  with  her  approval,  she  shrieked, 
threw  herself  on  the  floor,  and  created  a  terrible  scene. 

At  the  institution  for  girls  to  which  she  was  sent  she 
exhibited  exactly  the  same  traits.  She  behaved  so  badly 
that  it  was  felt  impossible  to  keep  her  there,  —  a  result 
which  she  may  have  desired.  However,  when  placed  on 
probation  with  the  understanding  that  if  she  behaved 
herself  properly  she  would  not  only  be  allowed  to  remain 
at  liberty  but  would  be  helped  to  obtain  a  position,  she 
continued  her  violently  delinquent  behavior,  and  it  was 
necessary  to  bring  her  back  into  court.  At  this  time  it 
was  noted  that  the  girl  seemed  most  sincere  in  her  prom- 
ise to  try  to  do  better  than  previously. 

When  first  examined,  Julia  was  a  small  and  rather 
poorly  developed  girl;  she  appeared,  however,  quite 
healthy.  There  were  no  sensory  defects  of  any  kind, 
and  nothing  significant  was  noted  on  the  physical  side 
other  than  her  excessive  frowning  and  very  surly  ex- 
pression. 

We  were  unable  to  get  an  altogether   satisfactory 


DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL  CONTROL        187 

account  of  the  heredity.  We  knew  the  father  to  be  an 
exceedingly  brutal  man,  who  beat  his  children,  and  who 
seemed  to  feel  that  their  greatest  obligation  to  him  was 
in  the  matter  of  their  supporting  him.  The  mother  evi- 
dently was  under  his  influence,  and  the  home  conditions 
were  very  bad.  There  was  a  large  family.  Eventually 
the  mother  left  the  father  and  returned  to  Europe,  where 
her  parents  still  resided.  Among  the  siblings  we  noted 
that  there  was  no  mental  trouble.  Two  older  sisters 
had  been  in  court,  but  the  delinquencies  of  neither  one 
had  been  at  all  extreme,  and  bad  home  conditions  suffi- 
ciently explained  the  misconduct.  One  of  these  girls 
has  turned  out  very  well  indeed ;  the  other  has  become  a 
great  sex  delinquent.  We  have  never  been  able  to  learn 
that  either  was  given  to  violent  outbreaks  of  temper  or 
to  any  other  form  of  violent  or  uncontrolled  behavior. 

Julia  was  said  never  to  have  been  very  sick  and  to  have 
developed  normally.  She  had,  of  course,  been  thrown  in 
contact  with  the  delinquent  older  sisters  and  later  with 
other  bad  companions,  but  it  could  hardly  be  alleged  that 
these  were  very  great  influences,  for  she  herself  was  much 
more  a  leader  than  a  follower.  Her  outbreaks  of  vio- 
lence were  not  based  upon  any  conflicts  or  hidden  emo- 
tional disturbance,  so  far  as  we  were  able  to  learn. 

As  previously  stated,  some  have  considered  this  girl 
insane,  particularly  those  who  have  seen  her  in  one  of 
her  fits  of  temper.  For  this  reason  a  very  thorough  psy- 
chological examination  was  originally  made,  and  Julia 
was  examined  again  after  an  interval  of  two  years.  We 
have  always  found  the  girl  well  oriented;  she  quite 
understood  the  home  situation  and  her  relation  to  it; 
she  talked  coherently  and  cogently;  she  knew  well  that 
she  had  an  ungovernable  temper  and  acknowledged  that 
she  could  not  control  it.  There  was  nothing  indicative 
of  delusions  or,  indeed,  of  any  form  of  aberration. 


188      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

The  interesting  feature  shown  on  psychological  exami- 
nation was  that  this  girl  was  able  to  perform  tests  for 
mental  control  very  well  indeed.  She  proved  herself  to 
have  good  innate  ability.  Performance  tests  were  done 
rapidly,  the  records  made  being  better  than  the  average. 
She  had  no  difficulty  in  tests  for  mental  analysis;  the 
pictorial  apperception  test  was  done  without  a  single 
error;  control  of  verbal  associations  was  normal;  con- 
tinuous subtraction  test  was  done  without  an  error  and 
fairly  rapidly.  As  for  school  work,  Julia  had  completed 
the  seventh  grade  in  the  public  school  at  thirteen  years. 
Indeed,  judged  merely  by  the  results  on  tests  nothing  of 
significance  would  have  been  noted. 

The  only  conclusion  that  one  can  reach  in  regard  to 
such  a  problem  is  that  there  exists  an  innate  defect  hi 
control,  that  powers  of  inhibition  are  not  normal.  There 
was  no  indication  of  any  physical  cause  for  this  lack,  nor 
was  any  explanation  gained  through  study  of  various 
mental  activities.  The  emotional  make-up  cannot  be 
adequately  studied  by  any  means  now  at  our  disposal; 
we  can  only  draw  inferences  in  regard  to  emotions  from 
general  behavior.  Certainly,  in  this  case  the  emotions 
do  not  seem  normal,  but  the  girl  never  showed  any  ex- 
treme emotional  reactions  other  than  her  bad  temper. 
Often  as  we  have  seen  her,  we  have  never  known  her  to 
cry,  to  show  any  violent  hatred,  or  any  tendency  towards 
moodiness. 

In  regard  to  the  influence  of  adolescence,  we  recognize 
the  fact  that  this  girl  had  entered  upon  that  period  when 
she  was  first  seen,  but  we  must  also  remember  that  as  she 
grows  older  her  self-control  is  not  becoming  any  greater ; 
if  it  were  purely  an  adolescent  phenomenon  one  would 
expect  her  to  become  more  stable  and  better  controlled 
with  advancing  years.  Recent  developments  in  her  career 
give  no  indication  of  any  betterment  of  behavior;  a 


DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL  CONTROL       189 

short  time  ago,  the  girl  escaped  from  a  correctional  insti- 
tution, engaged  in  extreme  immorality  and  stealing, 
was  sent  once  more  to  a  correctional  institution,  this  tune 
to  one  for  adults.  Upon  her  release,  after  a  short  sen- 
tence there,  she  attempted  suicide;  the  exact  events 
leading  to  this  act  we  do  not  know. 

Now  we  can  only  regard  the  outlook  for  the  future  as 
extremely  doubtful.  As  in  the  previous  case,  we  had 
earlier  advised  the  development  of  better  mental  inter- 
ests, and  removal  to  a  quieter  environment.  Unfortu- 
nately, this  advice  could  never  be  followed ;  even  now  it 
offers  the  best  chance  that  remains  for  any  possible 
improvement. 

Case  37.  Here,  again,  we  note  great  lack  of  control 
in  the  case  of  a  boy  well  endowed  mentally  and  physically, 
but  who  nevertheless  is  an  extreme  delinquent,  mainly, 
it  would  seem,  because  of  his  innate  defect  in  emotional 
control. 

Oliver  L.,  at  17  years  of  age  a  big,  well  developed 
young  fellow,  was  first  brought  into  court  a  number  of 
years  before  the  case  was  studied  by  us.  Indeed,  from 
the  court  records  we  note  that  he  was  already  proving 
troublesome  when  ten  years  old,  at  which  time  he  was 
sent  out  to  the  country.  No  sooner  was  he  returned  to 
the  city  than  he  was  again  delinquent.  In  the  inter- 
vening years  his  record  for  behavior  was  poor  and  since 
we  have  seen  him  he  has  been  still  further  delinquent. 
He  is  regarded  by  all  who  know  him  as  exceedingly  un- 
reliable. Not  only  is  he  notoriously  untruthful,  but 
reports  from  his  various  places  of  employment  show  him 
to  be  unstable  in  his  general  behavior.  On  one  occasion, 
for  instance,  when  he  was  expected  to  come  to  court  he 
did  not  appear,  although  from  previous  experience  he 
knew  this  would  reflect  badly  upon  him.  In  explanation 
he  weakly  told  the  judge  that  he  intended  to  report  after 


190      PSYCHOLOGY   OP  ABILITIES   AND   DISABILITIES 

he  had  gotten  a  job,  and  did  not  think  that  there  was  any 
harm  in  waiting  a  few  days. 

After  graduating  from  grammar  school  he  worked  at 
a  number  of  occupations.  Because  he  is  a  strong,  nice 
looking  boy  of  good  intelligence,  he  has  had  little  difficulty 
in  obtaining  one  position  after  another.  Most  of  them 
he  has  voluntarily  relinquished  after  working  only  a 
short  time.  The  family  report  that  he  is  troublesome  in 
every  way  at  home.  He  is  in  general  lazy ;  he  remains 
out  late  nights  in  spite  of  their  efforts  to  keep  him  occu- 
pied and  happy  at  home.  At  various  times  he  has  left 
home  and  traveled  about  the  country.  On  one  occasion 
he  went  to  New  York,  stayed  there  two  hours,  and  then, 
although  he  had  never  been  there  previously,  returned 
home.  Speaking  of  this,  he  later  said  he  really  had  no 
desire  to  see  the  city,  he  did  not  suppose  it  any  different 
from  other  cities,  and,  besides,  he  wanted  to  "move  on." 
It  was  then  that  he  suddenly  made  up  his  mind  to  jour- 
ney to  Florida.  He  has  also  been  to  the  Pacific  coast, 
always  making  his  own  way.  At  times  Oliver  has  given 
way  extensively  to  bad  sex  habits,  occasionally  with  other 
boys,  but  most  often  when  alone. 

Aside  from  the  record  of  delinquency  the  most  notable 
feature  in  regard  to  this  boy's  behavior  is  his  remarkable 
lack  of  control  of  his  emotions ;  for  example,  even  in  the 
courtroom,  when  quite  a  few  persons  were  present,  he 
broke  down  in  the  midst  of  his  story  and  cried  bitterly. 
This  seemed  such  peculiar  behavior  for  a  big,  strong  fel- 
low of  his  age,  that  it  was  the  occasion  of  our  being  asked 
to  study  the  boy. 

We  found  him  physically  in  exceedingly  good  condition. 
There  were  no  sensory  defects  nor  any  other  physical 
findings  of  significance.  As  for  mentality,  we  soon  were 
confident  that  the  boy  had  very  good  mental  powers. 
He  did  a  wide  range  of  tests  very  well  indeed.  Abstract 


DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL  CONTROL  191 

material  was  handled  as  successfully  as  concrete.  Tests 
for  mental  control  were  performed  normally ;  even  the 
code  test  was  easy  for  him.  But  in  the  laboratory,  as 
elsewhere,  we  were  impressed  with  the  lack  of  control 
of  his  emotions.  No  sooner  was  any  topic  concerning 
himself  touched  upon  than  the  boy  drew  down  the  cor- 
ners of  his  mouth  and  began  to  cry.  Indeed,  he  wept  so 
bitterly  that  it  was  difficult  for  him  to  continue  work  for 
quite  a  long  time.  The  same  reaction  was  noted  over  and 
over  on  various  occasions  and  in  the  presence  of  differ- 
ent persons. 

The  family  history  was  given  us  by  an  older  brother, 
a  very  successful  business  man,  quite  well  educated,  and 
fine  in  his  attitude  toward  the  delinquent  boy.  From 
him  we  learned  that  the  heredity  was  altogether  nega- 
tive. The  father,  dead  a  number  of  years,  had  been  a 
very  good  man,  not  alcoholic,  and  a  very  hard  worker ; 
he  was  a  member  of  a  family  in  which  there  was  no  mental 
trouble.  The  mother  we  found  to  be  a  very  good  woman ; 
she  had  never  heard  of  epilepsy  or  insanity  in  any  mem- 
ber of  her  family.  Of  the  three  siblings,  Oliver  was  the 
only  one  who  had  ever  caused  any  trouble.  This  older 
brother  and  an  older  sister  had  graduated  from  school 
with  good  records,  both  were  married,  and  had  never 
been  in  trouble  of  any  kind.  Oliver  had  always  been 
healthy,  in  fact,  unusually  so.  He  had  gone  to  school 
at  the  usual  age,  had  been  considered  a  bright  boy,  but 
early  was  in  trouble  and  was  once  expelled.  He  was  said 
to  have  associated  with  bad  companions  to  quite  a  great 
extent,  but  no  one  of  them  had  a  record  equal  to  his  own. 
An  interesting  feature  which  came  to  light  was  the  fact 
that  the  boy  very  frequently  was  penitent  and  many 
times  had  sincerely  promised  to  do  better,  but  invariably 
fell  back  into  his  old  ways. 

We  have  here,  then,  an  example  of  a  boy  strong  and  well 


192      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

physically,  mentally  quite  capable,  who  is  lacking,  how- 
ever, in  normal  control  of  his  emotions,  and  who  shows 
his  instability  and  poor  powers  of  inhibition  by  his  social 
reactions.  There  is  no  adequate  explanation  of  his 
delinquencies  other  than  his  innate  defect.  Here  the 
misconduct  began  prior  to  adolescence  and  has  continued 
over  a  long  period.  One  can  only  hope  that  with  advanc- 
ing age  the  boy  will  be  able  to  exert  better  control  through 
a  deeper  appreciation  of  the  necessity  for  this.  (As  a 
matter  of  fact,  our  later  reports  show  that  this  boy  is 
slowly  improving.) 

Case  38.  To  illustrate  the  fact  that  defects  in  mental 
and  emotional  control  may  be  so  excessive  as  to  verge 
upon  a  psychosis,  we  cite  the  following  case. 

Allen  B.,  nearly  13  years  of  age,  was  seen  when  brought 
by  his  parents,  who  complained  that  his  behavior  at  home 
was  excessively  uncontrolled.  His  older  sister  reported 
that  he  swore  terribly,  that  recently  he  had  chased  his 
mother  with  a  knife,  shrieking  at  her  and  calling  her  the 
worst  of  names,  merely  because  his  bed  had  been  shifted 
a  little.  He  had  on  several  occasions  attempted  to 
attack  his  mother ;  once  he  had  gathered  stones  to  throw 
at  her ;  he  had  beaten  his  father  ;  fought  with  the  brothers 
and  sisters,  calling  them  insulting  names  in  the  presence  of 
visitors;  refused  to  eat  what  was  prepared  for  the  fam- 
ily ;  on  one  occasion  in  a  rage  he  had  run  away  from  home 
several  blocks  on  the  city  streets  clad  only  in  his  under- 
garments. Though  poor,  the  family  had  tried  to  humor 
him  and  had  bought  a  violin  hoping  that  he  would  be- 
come interested  in  music,  for  which  he  seemed  to  have 
talent.  They  paid  fifty  dollars  for  the  instrument,  and 
Allen  in  a  fit  of  temper  broke  it  to  pieces.  The  teacher 
who  had  come  to  the  house  was  driven  out  by  the  boy. 
A  long  recital  of  misconduct  was  to  the  effect  that  the 
boy  exhibited  extreme  temper  and  lack  of  control.  His 


DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL  CONTROL  193 

people  felt  that  he  was  dangerous,  and  something  must 
be  done  in  the  home  situation. 

The  family  history  showed  that  Allen  came  from 
extremely  neurotic  and  psychopathic  stock.  The  mother 
was  very  nervous,  always  excitable,  and  easily  frightened. 
The  father,  a  very  hard-working  man,  was  asthmatic  and 
otherwise  sickly;  he  was  extremely  irritable,  complain- 
ing constantly,  and  never  was  known  to  smile  or  appear 
happy.  An  older  sister  was  excessively  nervous;  she 
had  fainting  attacks  and  became  easily  frightened,  at 
which  time  she  would  tremble  all  over;  she  told  us  of 
attacks  of  dizziness  and  of  early  chorea ;  the  greater  part 
of  three  years  during  adolescence  she  had  spent  in  a 
hospital.  Another  sister,  bright  in  school,  likewise  showed 
nervous  signs  which  had  been  diagnosed  as  chorea. 

We  could  learn  nothing  significant  regarding  the  devel- 
opmental history  of  Allen.  He  had  a  good  school  record, 
was  in  the  seventh  grade.  He  was  said  to  prepare  his 
lessons  regularly,  and  his  conduct  was  considerably  better 
at  school  than  at  home.  Physically  he  was  rather  small 
for  his  age  and  poorly  developed.  He  complained  of 
headaches  and  of  vertigo  when  he  read  too  long,  but  vision 
was  not  very  defective  as  judged  by  a  rough  examination ; 
however,  we  felt  that  he  should  have  his  eyes  studied  by 
a  specialist.  He  did  not  drink  tea  or  coffee  to  excess, 
did  not  smoke,  and  was  not  known  to  have  any  bad 
habits.  In  all  other  respects  physical  examination  was 
negative.  There  were  no  indications  of  nervous  disturb- 
ance ;  reflexes  were  quite  normal,  no  tremors  noted. 

As  for  mentality,  it  was  most  difficult  to  reach  any 
conclusion  because  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  lad.  His 
general  lack  of  self-control  was  most  apparent  upon  test- 
ing him.  He  would,  perhaps,  begin  an  interview  in  a 
very  friendly  manner,  showing  the  greatest  willingness 
to  cooperate,  but  might  soon  change  his  mood.  In  the 


194      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

midst  of  one  test  he  became  hysterical,  laughing  in  a  most 
uncontrolled  manner  over  the  absurdities  test  of  the 
Binet  series.  Whenever  he  did  not  see  the  solution  of  a 
problem  quickly,  he  became  utterly  confused  and  hope- 
lessly involved.  Thus,  on  one  of  the  construction  tests, 
his  record  was  extremely  poor ;  on  each  of  two  trials  he 
failed  to  solve  this.  His  powers  of  apperception,  as  in- 
dicated by  tests  as  well  as  by  his  behavior,  were  decidedly 
poor.  He  made  seven  errors  out  of  possible  ten,  on  the 
pictorial  apperception  test,  although  a  normal  twelve- 
year-old  boy  should  be  able  to  perform  this  satisfactorily. 
His  lack  of  good  mental  control  was  further  indicated  in 
a  reading  test,  where  he  read  the  selection  fluently,  but 
in  the  reproduction  incorporated  ideas  of  his  own  which 
changed  the  meaning  altogether. 

Seen  a  second  day,  the  boy  once  more  began  well,  but 
when  he  made  a  poor  record  on  a  certain  test,  his  expres- 
sion changed  to  one  of  intense  moroseness;  he  refused 
to  do  any  further  work  and  began  to  cry.  An  effort  was 
made  on  a  third  day,  at  which  time  it  was  found  that 
he  had  extremely  poor  control  of  his  verbal  associations, 
since  he  made  7  errors  in  giving  the  opposites  to  20  dif- 
ferent words.  About  a  week  later  the  boy  once  more 
came  to  the  laboratory  and  this  tune  succeeded  with 
several  tests  on  which  he  had  previously  failed,  but  the 
opposites  test  for  control  of  associations  and  the  apper- 
ception test  were  as  poorly  done  as  formerly. 

Our  final  diagnosis  regarding  the  mentality  of  this  boy 
was  that  he  was  a  border-line  case  of  psychosis.  That 
he  was  innately  capable  was  shown  by  his  good  school 
record  and  by  the  ease  with  which  he  passed  all  of  the 
Binet  tests  for  general  intelligence,  but  his  lack  of  mental 
control  was  equally  as  apparent.  His  reactions  on  nu- 
merous tests  showed  decidedly  aberrational  tendencies,  and 
his  behavior  indicated  his  defect  in  powers  of  inhibition 


DEFECTS  IN  MENTAL   CONTROL  195 

and  control.     In  this  instance,  of  course,  the  hereditary 
basis  was  obvious. 

One  can  scarcely  see  how  such  a  boy  could  get  on  in 
the  family  environment.  It  was  recommended  that  he 
be  placed  in  a  quiet  country  home  where  there  would  be 
less  in  the  way  of  irritation  and  more  in  the  way  of  good 
discipline.  We  bore  in  mind,  of  course,  that  the  aber- 
rational tendencies  might  increase,  and  the  boy  might 
develop  an  out-and-out  psychosis.  However,  while  the 
family  showed  such  extreme  neurotic  tendencies  and 
lack  of  nervous  stability,  none  of  them  had  ever  been 
really  insane. 


CHAPTER  IX 

SPECIAL  ABILITIES  WITH  GENERAL  MENTAL  SUB- 
NORMALITY 

WHEREAS  this  book  has  previously  dealt  with  types  of 
special  disabilities  found  in  individuals  otherwise  normal 
mentally,  in  this  chapter  will  be  considered  the  opposite 
type  of  mental  irregularities,  namely,  special  abilities  which 
rise  above  the  level  of  general  mental  subnormality. 
Remembering  the  definitions  and  limitations  given  in 
the  first  chapter,  we  need  but  reiterate  here  that  we  shall 
confine  ourselves  to  issues  which  have  practical  signifi- 
cance in  relation  to  educational  and  social  problems. 

One  might,  of  course,  discuss  special  abilities  found  in 
the  normal,  and  unusual  gifts  as  seen  in  the  genius  or 
supernormal.  But  there  is  a  peculiar  advantage  in 
studying  aptitudes  that  arise  from  a  level  lower  than  the 
normal.  Because  all  other  powers  are  defective,  the 
special  ability  looms  large  and  is  therefore  more  clearly 
discerned  as  a  separate  function.  Knowledge  derived 
from  study  of  simpler  forms  of  mental  activity  is  needed 
to  aid  in  understanding  the  highly  complicated  admix- 
ture of  powers  that  genius  generally  represents.  Indeed, 
the  type  of  research  presented  in  this  chapter  should  be 
greatly  extended  in  the  future,  that  all  the  unitary  func- 
tions and  powers  may  be  known. 

The  cases  offered  in  illustration  of  special  abilities  do 
not  belong  to  the  group  of  defectives  who  can  do  only 
the  simplest  work  under  direction  and  who  must,  there- 

196 


GENEKAL  MENTAL  SUBNOEMALITT      197 

fore,  be  constantly  protected  and  in  many  instances 
permanently  segregated.  A  few  are  included  who  grade 
quite  low  on  the  Binet  scale  and  hence  would  be  regarded 
by  some  as  definitely  feeble-minded.  However,  they  give 
evidence  of  special  abilities  of  such  social  significance  that 
there  is  a  strong  possibility  of  successful  adjustment  to 
conditions  outside  an  institution.  With  the  emphasis  that 
is  now  placed  on  the  social  definition  of  the  term  feeble- 
minded, many  of  these  individuals  could  not  be  com- 
mitted to  a  State  institution  for  mental  defectives.  Their 
greatest  happiness  and  society's  best  interests  can  be  most 
largely  conserved  by  discovering  the  tasks  for  which  such 
persons  are  best  fitted  and  by  directing  educational  and 
vocational  efforts  accordingly. 

The  belief  seems  quite  general  that  all  mental  defectives 
are  best  fitted  for  handwork,  that  their  main  training 
should  be  in  the  sensory  and  perceptual  fields.  A  certain 
amount  of  the  three  R's  is  added  to  this  in  the  case  of 
those  who  seem  capable  of  grasping  such  subjects.  What 
the  author  would  here  maintain  is  that  for  high  grade 
defectives  it  is  necessary  to  undertake  psychological  studies 
that  are  intensive,  in  order  to  find  any  special  abilities 
which  may  exist,  since  even  among  defectives  capacities 
are  often  uneven. 

We  know  from  actual  experience  that  not  all  feeble- 
minded are  adapted  to  education  on  the  motor  side.  In 
illustration,  the  following  instance  is  cited. 

Case  39.  A  boy  of  13  years  was  graded  according  to 
Binet  as  7f  years  mentally.  He  was  unable  to  reply  to 
any  common-sense  questions ;  memory  span  for  numerals 
presented  either  auditorily  or  visually  was  distinctly  low 
(four  and  five  numerals  respectively).  He  could  not 
reproduce  with  any  semblance  of  correctness  a  passage 
read  to  him  which  contained  twelve  ideas ;  his  power  of 
association  for  arbitrary  symbols  was  exceedingly  poor; 


198      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

in  the  simple  substitution  test  he  made  five  errors,  and  in 
a  number  of  other  tests,  which  we  need  not  here  enumer- 
ate in  detail,  the  results  corroborated  the  Binet  findings. 
There  was  no  doubt  that  the  boy  was  feeble-minded.  On 
tests  for  psychomotor  control  and  on  construction  tests 
requiring  perception  of  form,  or  relationships  of  form,  he 
made  extremely  poor  records.  At  1 1-^  years  he  was  unable 
to  copy  a  diamond  shaped  figure ;  he  failed  on  the  simple 
construction  test  when  it  was  first  given  him,  though  he 
later  learned  to  do  this.  He  failed  likewise  on  the  more 
difficult  construction  test  and  on  the  puzzle  box.  Given 
a  problem  involving  concrete  material  he  showed  not  only 
the  greatest  lack  of  rational  procedure  in  the  solution, 
but  even  inability  to  profit  by  errors  when  employing  a 
trial  and  error  method.  Many  impossibilities  were  tried 
and  repeated ;  indeed,  this  boy  was  poorer  in  such  tests 
than  are  many  feeble-minded  of  even  lower  grade  than  he. 

He  had  no  ability  in  the  handling  of  numbers ;  he  could 
only  count  slowly  by  ones.  However,  he  showed  quite  a 
facility  for  reading.  To  our  great  surprise  he  was  able 
to  render  quite  fluently  a  third-grade  passage  and  to 
reproduce  the  content  fairly  well.  Considering  his 
limited  training  in  reading,  this  seemed  most  remarkable. 
His  special  ability  was  so  narrow  and  unrelated  to  other 
mental  traits  that  perhaps  little  could  be  made  of  it  in  the 
way  of  practical  application.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
chance  for  training  this  boy  to  become  an  industrial 
worker  with  concrete  material  would  seem  to  be  almost 
nil. 

Special  ability  for  some  one  type  of  performance  is 
frequently  found  in  members  of  the  subnormal  group. 
It  would  seem  worth  while  to  differentiate  the  training 
given  to  such  individuals,  at  least  in  specific  instances 
where  findings  on  tests  offer  justification  for  it.  Those 
who  have  particular  ability  in  the  field  of  language  could 


GENERAL  MENTAL  SUBNORMALITY      199 

certainly  profit  by  training  which  would  be  useless  for 
others.  Again,  there  are  some  few  who,  because  of  special 
ability  for  numbers,  could  perhaps  be  trained  for  an 
occupation  where  their  special  gift  could  be  used,  rather 
than  have  the  major  portion  of  their  time  consumed  by 
training  in  basketry  or  other  handwork.  Sometimes  there 
is  a  special  talent  for  music,  or  some  other  form  of  art, 
such  as  drawing  or  dancing,  or  dramatic  expression.  Or 
it  is  an  exceptionally  good  memory,  perhaps  specialized 
visual  memory  or  rote  memory  in  general,  that  stands 
above  the  general  level  of  other  powers.  More  often 
still,  there  is  ability  to  deal  with  the  concrete,  for  experi- 
ence corroborates,  on  the  whole,  such  studies  as  Nors- 
worthy's,1  where  it  was  found  that  in  the  sensory  fields 
the  normal  and  the  defective  are  much  more  nearly  equal 
in  ability  than  in  powers  of  reasoning,  judgment,  or  ability 
to  deal  with  abstractions.  Indeed,  some  subnormals, 
and  even  some  feeble-minded,  are  superior  to  many  a 
normal  person  in  the  doing  of  handwork.  Nor  do  we 
mean  the  very  rarely  met  feeble-minded  person  with 
exceptional  mechanical  and  constructive  genius. 

Occasionally,  unusually  good  motor  dexterity  may  be 
the  exceptional  gift,  without  corresponding  skill  in  manual 
work.  We  have  long  known  the  case  of  a  young  man,  now 
eighteen  years  old,  a  mental  defective  who  never  did  well 
on  tests  with  concrete  material,  who  has  become  a  very 
successful  boxer.  His  motor  reactions  are  quick  and  well 
controlled,  and  this,  together  with  his  aggressiveness  and 
general  forcefulness,  makes  him  something  of  an  expert 
in  his  own  field. 

In  apperceptive  ability  subnormals  as  well  as  lower 
grade  defectives  vary  greatly.  We  have  seen  both  high- 
grade  morons  and  border-line  individuals  who  were  well 

1  Norsworthy,  Naomi.  "The  Psychology  of  Mentally  Deficient 
Children."  Archives  of  Psychology,^,  1906.,' 


200      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  .DISABILITIES 

aware  of  their  own  limitations,  and  then  we  have  seen 
others  who  did  not  appreciate  their  lack  of  mental  endow- 
ment to  any  adequate  degree.  Probably  the  social  success 
of  subnormals  and  high-grade  feeble-minded  is  in  direct 
proportion  to  the  degree  of  apperceptive  ability  which 
they  possess;  or,  at  least,  this  added  to  other  special 
abilities. 

For  the  final  determination  of  many  moot  points,  we 
need  much  more  careful  study  of  the  capacities  of  mental 
defectives  who  are  not  segregated  in  colonies  or  institu- 
tions. We  ought  to  know  what  percentage  succeed 
industrially,  in  what  kinds  of  occupations  they  are 
engaged,  and  all  facts  which  might  throw  light  on  the 
causes  of  their  success.  This  information  should  be 
correlated  with  their  mental  age  and  the  training  they 
have  received.  It  may  well  be  that  high-grade  defectives 
and  subnormals  are  performing  more  varied  types  of 
work  than  they  are  believed  by  many  to  be  capable  of 
doing. 

SPECIAL  ABILITY  IN  NUMBER  WORK 

The  fact  that  individuals  with  general  mental  defect 
may  have  unusual  ability  in  number  work  has  been  rec- 
ognized in  the  case  of  some  mathematical  prodigies  who 
show  great  disability  in  all  other  respects.  Considering 
the  fact  that  the  correct  manipulation  of  the  four  funda- 
mental processes,  adding,  subtracting,  multiplying,  and 
dividing,  depends  largely  upon  rote  memory,  a  function 
often  extremely  good  even  in  the  feeble-minded,  it  is  not 
at  all  surprising  that  even  feeble-minded  children  may  be 
accurate  and  often  fairly  rapid  in  such  performances.  Of 
course,  it  is  quite  a  different  story  when  we  reach  the  more 
difficult  phases  of  number  work,  which  are  concerned  with 
problems  in  which  reasoning  is  involved. 


GENERAL  MENTAL  SUBNORMALITY      201 

We  need  not  here  give  instances  of  defectives  who  have 
learned  the  rudimentary  aspects  of  number  work,  since 
this  is  so  very  common,  but  occasionally  one  meets  a 
subnormal  child  who  seems  to  have  a  good  grasp  of  the 
operations  of  arithmetic.  Such  children  are  able  some- 
times to  do  so-called  mental  arithmetic  rapidly,  even 
though  they  themselves  are  unable  to  analyze  the  mental 
processes  sufficiently  to  explain  their  methods. 

The  practical  significance  of  special  ability  of  this  kind 
is  quite  obvious.  In  an  institution,  or  outside,  such  facility 
in  dealing  with  number  combinations  could  be  utilized. 
Certainly,  it  would  be  a  help  in  all  business  relations 
and  might  be  the  main  consideration  in  vocational  guid- 
ance of  individuals  so  gifted.  There  is  every  reason  to 
suppose  that,  given  certain  other  qualities,  such  as  honesty 
and  trustworthiness,  a  defective  with  this  special  ability 
might  be  qualified  for  a  position  as  cashier. 

Case  40.  Martin  T.,  16  years  old,  had  attended  school 
from  his  sixth  year,  but  had  only  reached  the  fifth  grade 
when  he  withdrew  at  fourteen  years.  His  record  was 
poor,  he  had  been  a  truant,  and  had  several  times  repeated 
his  grades. 

The  psychological  examination  showed  very  plainly  the 
innate  mental  weakness  of  the  boy  and  equally  as  signifi- 
cantly the  special  ability,  which  had  apparently  never 
been  recognized,  or  at  least  put  to  any  use.  The  boy  did 
so  poorly  on  various  tests  that  he  had  to  be  regarded  as 
undoubtedly  subnormal  in  general;  on  the  Binet  scale 
his  final  score  stood  as  several  tests  beyond  the  level  for 
ten  years.  Reasoning  powers,  except  as  required  in 
arithmetic,  were  markedly  defective.  Replies  to  common- 
sense  questions,  such  as  are  given  in  the  Binet  tests,  were 
very  stupid,  showing  poor  powers  of  comprehension  and 
apperception.  This  was  corroborated  by  the  results  on  a 
number  of  different  tests.  He  did  very  poorly  on  tests 


202      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

for  mental  analysis,  showed  poor  control  of  verbal  asso- 
ciations, and  very  poor  powers  of  motor  control.  Memory 
for  rote  material  was  somewhat  better,  as  was  his  ability 
to  handle  simple  concrete  material.  Results  on  these 
latter  tests  were  not  unusual  in  any  way,  but  were  good  in 
comparison  with  the  problems  involving  comprehension 
of  abstractions. 

His  school  work  was  poor  on  the  whole.  He  was  unable 
to  spell  correctly  even  fairly  simple  words ;  indeed,  when 
asked  to  write  from  dictation  "The  printer  made  some 
cards",  the  only  word  written  correctly  was  "the."  He 
read  a  third-grade  passage  haltingly,  showing  unfamiliarity 
with  words  in  common  use.  But  when  number  work  was 
done  some  very  interesting  results  were  found.  The  boy 
had  evidently  never  learned  thoroughly  the  processes  as 
such.  He  did  not  know  how  to  do  a  problem  in  long 
division,  and  multiplying  by  two  numbers  he  did  as  follows : 
First,  he  obtained  the  product  of  the  first  number  correctly, 
then  multiplied  this  product  by  the  second  number  in- 
stead of  using  the  multiplicand.  Thus,  while  he  knew  the 
combinations  of  the  multiplication  tables,  he  did  not 
know  the  method  of  handling  a  two-place  multiplier.  His 
lack  of  knowledge  in  regard  to  the  proper  solution  of  such 
numerical  operations  was  probably  due  to  a  lack  of  train- 
ing, for  the  boy  had  been  truant  much. 

On  all  number  work  performed  orally,  —  so-called 
"mental  arithmetic",  —  the  boy  did  extremely  well. 
To  our  very  great  surprise  he  was  quick  in  the  solving  of 
arithmetical  problems.  He  very  promptly  told  us  the 
change  that  would  be  left  if  he  had  $2.00  and  spent  $1.47. 
Given  the  cost  of  one  article  he  promptly  gave  the  correct 
answer  as  to  the  cost  of  any  multiple  of  this,  or  conversely, 
if  told  the  price  of  a  dozen  oranges,  for  example,  he  readily 
gave  the  cost  of  any  portion  of  a  dozen.  He  rapidly  gave 
the  correct  answer  to  the  following  problem  :  "  If  you  had 


GENERAL  MENTAL  SUBNORMALITY      203 

some  apples  and  gave  away  one-half  and  lost  one-half  of 
those  left  and  then  had  four,  how  many  must  you  have  had 
at  first?"  For  comparison  with  this  we  must  remember 
that  this  boy  was  unable  to  detect  the  absurdity  in  such  a 
statement  as  "Yesterday  I  saw  a  man  walking  on  the 
street  with  his  hands  in  his  pockets  swinging  a  cane",  nor 
did  he  give  what  is  accounted  a  correct  reply  to  the 
common-sense  question  as  to  what  he  would  do  before 
undertaking  an  important  affair,  or  why  one  should  judge 
a  person  by  his  acts  rather  than  by  his  words. 

Here  is  a  boy,  then,  who  shows  very  poor  judgment  and 
powers  of  reasoning  in  regard  to  many  simple  situations 
of  real  life,  and  who,  nevertheless,  is  able  to  deal  with 
number  combinations  very  rapidly.  He  adds  and  makes 
change  without  any  trouble,  he  can  reason  in  regard  to 
situations  involving  numerical  relationships,  and  he  can 
carry  on  processes  in  "his  head"  far  better  than  he  can 
do  anything  else.  One  can  hardly  explain  his  lack  of 
school  knowledge  and  his  poor  ability  in  reading  and  writ- 
ing altogether  on  the  basis  of  his  truancy,  because  he  had 
been  held  for  several  periods  in  a  school  for  truants,  where 
the  instruction  and  training  is  known  to  be  good. 
Furthermore,  his  general  subnormality  is  evidenced  by 
his  poor  results  on  a  number  of  tests,  many  of  which  are 
not  dependent  upon  school  training. 

After  leaving  school  Martin  had  gone  to  work,  but  was 
said  never  to  be  able  to  keep  a  job.  He  had  been  em- 
ployed as  errand  boy  by  several  different  business  firms, 
but  apparently  had  never  been  interested  in  any  work  that 
he  had  tried.  No  physical  troubles  could  be  held  account- 
able for  his  retardation  or  vocational  failures.  He  was  a 
big,  strong,  very  well  developed  boy,  in  excellent  physical 
condition,  except  for  tonsils  which  were  somewhat  en- 
larged. He  had  never  been  seriously  ill,  according  to  the 
family  history  which  we  obtained  from  the  parents. 


204      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

No  special  training  had  been  give  him  in  the  subject 
in  which  the  boy  excelled,  nor  had  any  cognizance  been 
taken  of  it  in  the  work  that  had  been  obtained  for  him. 
He  had  been  placed,  we  know,  through  an  agency  in  several 
different  positions,  but  without  any  regard  to  his  general 
stupidity  or  his  special  ability.  Whether  any  practical 
measures  taking  into  account  his  gift  for  manipulation  of 
numbers  could  have  been  undertaken,  is  open  to  discussion. 
When  the  boy  was  studied  by  us  he  had  already  been  long 
delinquent  and  was  not  altogether  trustworthy,  so  that  he 
was  unfitted  for  handling  money.  He  had  been  engaged 
in  several  stealing  affairs,  was  fond  of  gambling,  and  had 
once  been  in  a  burglary.  To  what  extent  his  mentality 
was  a  direct  factor  in  his  misconduct  we  cannot  be  sure, 
but  it  probably  had  much  relationship  to  his  early  truancy, 
which,  as  we  know,  so  often  leads  to  more  serious  misdeeds. 

In  any  case,  his  ability  for  handling  numbers  and  number 
relationships  might  well  have  been  used  to  advantage; 
perhaps  with  training  the  boy  might  have  been  more  in- 
terested in  some  clerical  work  than  in  the  positions  that 
had  been  procured  for  him  without  regard  to  his  special 
ability  and  disabilities. 

SPECIAL  ABILITY  FOR  LANGUAGE 

Some  mental  defectives  have  special  ability  for  language, 
exhibited  not  only  by  the  acquirement  of  a  remarkably 
good  vocabulary,  but  also  by  the  effective  and  often  dra- 
matic use  of  words.  We  have  known  subnormal  and  even 
rather  low  grade  feeble-minded  individuals  who,  without 
special  training,  have  shown  facility  in  the  use  of  several 
languages.  The  practical  bearings  of  this  talent  are 
extremely  important.  Because  lay  verdicts  regarding 
mental  ability  are  based  largely  upon  impressions  gained 
through  conversation,  such  people  are  usually  accounted 


GENERAL  MENTAL  SUBNORMALITY      205 

quite  normal  and  even  bright.  It  is  generally  felt  that 
if  a  person  is  able  to  talk  coherently  and  well,  he  must, 
perforce,  be  intelligent. 

This  type  of  special  ability  has  been  discussed  at  length 
by  Healy  in  his  textbook.  He  shows  the  misconceptions 
that  often  arise  in  the  courtroom  concerning  the  mentality 
of  the  mentally  defective  verbalist,  as  well  as  the  serious 
consequences  to  which  such  faulty  judgments  lead.  We 
may  repeat  very  briefly  the  position  taken  in  regard  to  the 
influence  which  this  particular  talent  exerts  on  psy- 
chological examinations.  Naturally,  tests  which  depend 
upon  language  ability  would  be  well  performed,  thus 
obscuring  the  fact  that  in  other  respects  the  individual 
may  be  exceedingly  lacking.  Since  Binet  tests  partic- 
ularly involve  the  use  of  language,  this  becomes  a  vital 
matter  in  the  testing  of  school  cases,  as  well  as  court  cases, 
for  in  so  many  instances  the  Binet  tests  alone  are  relied 
upon  for  mental  diagnosis.  It  is  quite  possible  that 
this  ability,  together  with  good  rote  memory,  would 
enable  a  child  to  maintain  his  position  in  the  ordinary 
classroom  for  a  few  years  before  he  is  recognized  as  a 
defective  with  special  ability.  When  reasoning  and  judg- 
ment are  required,  the  defects,  of  course,  begin  to  be 
apparent,  and  yet,  from  our  own  experience  we  know  that 
there  are  cases  where  the  individual  is  accounted  normal 
by  all  who  come  into  contact  with  him  until  a  psychological 
examination  reveals  the  truth. 

The  negative  aspects  of  this  problem  are  more  striking 
than  the  positive  ones,  for  witjiout  other  abilities  it  is 
difficult  to  see  how  facility  in  the  field  of  language  can  be 
practically  useful;  in  most,  if  not  all,  positions  in  the 
social  world  parrot-like  ability  to  talk  well  will  not  suffice. 
In  consequence  of  their  special  gift,  most  of  the  defectives 
with  special  language  ability  whom  we  have  seen  have 
been  socially  dangerous ;  they  have  been  able  to  impose 


206      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

upon  all  who  know  them  and  to  pass  among  their  asso- 
ciates as  normal,  even  when  their  behavior  has  indicated 
great  stupidity.  Educational  and  vocational  failures, 
puzzling  perhaps  because  of  this  deceptive  semblance  of 
normal  mentality,  can  be  understood  only  when  this  type 
of  special  ability  is  appreciated  in  all  its  practical  bearings. 

Case  41.  Wilhelmina  T.,  18  years  old,  was  a  girl  who 
made  an  extremely  favorable  impression.  She  talked 
very  well,  expressing  herself  in  good  English.  She  enjoyed 
expressing  her  views  of  life,  and  for  a  girl  of  her  age  she 
had  quite  a  philosophy,  crude  and  immature,  but  fairly 
consistent.  She  had  attended  school  for  eight  years, 
according  to  her  parents,  and  had  reached  the  sixth  grade 
when  she  withdrew.  Both  her  parents  and  her  teachers 
regarded  her  progress  as  unsatisfactory,  but  the  latter 
had  never  stated  that  she  was  below  normal  mentally. 
The  girl  had  many  advantages ;  her  parents  were  intelli- 
gent, the  home  a  very  good  one,  earlier  the  family  had 
traveled  quite  extensively,  and  later  the  girl  had  received 
private  instruction  in  music  and  elocution. 

The  results  of  the  psychological  examination  were 
surprising,  because  they  were  so  little  in  accord  with  the 
exceedingly  good  impression  which  the  girl  made  in  con- 
versation. It  was  evident  that  she  had  a  special  gift  for 
language,  for  she  did  well  all  tests  where  ability  to  express 
oneself  was  an  aid.  Indeed,  with  the  single  exception 
of  the  test  for  psychomotor  control,  the  only  good  results 
were  achieved  on  the  opposites  test  which  requires  control 
of  verbal  associations,  on  reading,  and  on  writing  sen- 
tences. 

On  the  other  hand,  after  noting  the  failures  made  on 
many  comparatively  simple  tasks,  one  had  little  doubt 
of  the  girl's  limitations.  On  construction  tests  she  showed 
no  resourcefulness;  her  reactions  were  childish,  and  she 
wished  repeatedly  to  be  allowed  to  stop  before  the  ex- 


GENERAL  MENTAL  SUBNORMALITY      207 

piration  of  the  time  limit.  Urged  to  continue,  she  was 
unable  to  solve  even  the  simplest  test  of  this  type.  She 
showed  no  greater  ability  in  dealing  with  abstractions; 
tests  for  mental  representation  were  not  only  failures, 
but  the  purpose  of  the  tests  was  not  even  grasped.  The 
girl  herself  said,  "  I  can't  think  of  it  or  remember  it ;  it's 
too  hard."  It  was  evident  that  she  did  not  employ  visual 
imagery  as  an  aid ;  indeed  we  soon  discovered  that  visual 
memory  powers  were  very  poor.  No  better  success  was 
achieved  in  the  simple  substitution  test. 

When  the  failures  were  analyzed  it  was  seen  that  Wil- 
helmina  was  exceedingly  incompetent.  She  not  only 
lacked  resourcefulness  and  planfulness,  but  she  also  did 
not  profit  by  her  own  experiences.  In  reasoning  and 
apperceptive  ability  she  was  plainly  lacking;  hi  fact, 
there  was  no  single  type  of  work  done  well,  except  lan- 
guage tests.  Undoubtedly  it  was  this  gift  for  self-ex- 
pression that  obscured  the  fact  of  the  girl's  subnormality. 
She  was  stupid  in  general,  but  with  special  ability  for 
language. 

It  was  interesting  to  find  that  Wilhelmina  had  readily 
obtained  several  positions  as  salesgirl  and  that  she  was 
considered  satisfactory  in  that  capacity.  The  delin- 
quencies in  which  she  became  involved  need  not  be  re- 
counted here;  we  are  interested  in  them  only  as  her 
abilities  or  disabilities  bear  upon  them.  There  were 
causative  factors  other  than  mentality,  but  her  mental 
limitations  formed  no  doubt  one  contributing  cause ;  her 
innate  defects  in  foresight  and  judgment  accounted  in 
part,  at  least,  for  the  difficulties  in  which  she  became  in- 
volved. What  could  be  done  constructively  to  aid  the 
girl  is  another  matter.  Indeed,  one  could  only  urge 
that  she  be  carefully  protected,  and  that  her  general  dis- 
ability be  recognized  in  order  that  demands  which  she 
would  not  be  equal  to  meet  should  not  be  made. 


208      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

Case  42.  Below  is  cited  briefly  the  case  of  a  girl  who, 
although  very  definitely  low-grade  feeble-minded,  yet 
was  not  generally  recognized  as  such  because  of  her 
ability  to  talk  well. 

Catherine  L.  came  to  this  country  a  stranger,  illit- 
erate, untrained,  but  because  of  remarkable  language 
ability  was  able  to  obtain  and  hold  positions,  to  interest 
people  in  her  behalf,  and  to  make  an  extremely  good 
impression,  all  on  the  basis  of  her  vivacious  and  fluent 
conversation. 

Catherine  had  been  but  sixteen  months  in  this  country, 
having  come  to  join  relatives.  Her  mother  remained  in 
Europe.  Because  of  poor  family  circumstances  she  had 
never  attended  school  a  day  in  her  Me.  She  had  lived 
in  a  small  country  town  and  had  received  no  trade  train- 
ing, or,  for  that  matter,  training  of  any  kind. 

When  we  saw  the  girl  she  was  able  to  converse  fluently 
in  English.  She  had  quite  a  good  vocabulary  and  a  great 
deal  of  feeling  for  choice  of  words.  She  spoke  dramati- 
cally, and  the  effectiveness  of  her  special  gift  was  seen  in 
the  fact  that  she  had  been  able  to  obtain  positions  which, 
had  her  real  defects  been  known,  would  never  have  been 
given  her.  Thus,  she  was  going  from  door  to  door  selling 
some  patent  appliance,  having  had  some  friend  read  for 
her  the  advertisement  through  which  she  had  gotten  her 
position  as  canvasser.  She  could  not  keep  account  of  the 
money  which  she  received  in  exchange  for  her  goods,  so 
she  invented  a  very  plausible  story,  asking  her  customers 
to  make  out  a  receipt  which  stated  the  amount  which  they 
had  given  her ;  then  later  she  had  others  count  the  money 
which  she  turned  over  to  her  employers.  Although  so 
shrewd  in  this,  her  general  apperceptions  were  poor,  and 
she  was  so  lacking  in  foresight  that  she  soon  became  in- 
volved in  difficulties.  She  was  exceedingly  untruthful 
and  began  stealing  in  very  stupid  ways.  But  so  favor- 


"GENERAL  MENTAL  SUBNORMALITY          209 

able  was  the  impression  which  she  made,  that,  in  spite 
of  these  faults,  no  one  interested  in  the  girl  ever  realized 
that  she  was  a  defective.  She  always  tried  to  cover  her 
misdeeds  by  plausible  stories  and  the  result  was  that  grad- 
ually she  was  considered  to  be  delinquent,  —  never  feeble- 
minded. 

It  was  necessary  to  spend  much  time  and  to  make  a 
most  careful  study  of  this  girl's  mentality,  because  one 
had  to  take  into  account  her  lack  of  educational  opportuni- 
ties and  give  her  the  benefit  of  the  doubt  in  such  work  as 
depended  upon  this.  Bearing  this  point  in  mind,  we  yet 
were  convinced  at  the  end  of  our  study  that  the  girl  was  a 
mental  defective.  She  showed  very  poor  ability  to  handle 
concrete  material;  although  she  did  remember  solutions 
of  problems  when  they  were  shown  her,  she  herself  showed 
absolutely  no  power  to  reason.  She  failed  on  the  simplest 
tests  for  powers  of  analysis,  showed  extremely  poor  powers 
of  apperception  on  special  tests  as  well  as  in  her  social 
behavior.  In  spite  of  having  handled  money  in  her  daily 
occupation,  she  had  not  learned  to  add  the  simplest  sums 
nor  to  make  simple  change.  In  every  way,  then,  we  had 
evidence  of  her  poor  mental  endowment. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  were  told  by  those  who  were 
competent  to  judge  that  she  spoke  well  in  several  lan- 
guages, which  she  had  learned  through  residing  in  different 
countries.  Her  English  was  unexpectedly  good.  We 
took  verbatim  a  long  conversation  held  with  Catherine, 
and  no  one  would  believe  it  possible  that  a  feeble-minded 
girl  could  have  mastered  so  well  a  new  language  in  the 
length  of  time  that  she  had  been  in  this  country.  There 
was  no  doubt  that  she  had  a  great  gift  for  power  of  ex- 
pression. 

We  see  here  a  very  clear  illustration  of  the  dangers  that 
this  talent  involves.  Almost  any  one  would  have  been 
deceived  by  this  girl,  and  indeed,  a  great  deal  in  the  way 


210      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

of  monetary  help  had  been  wasted,  for  her  innate  mental 
defects  made  it  all  along  unlikely  that  she  would  be  able 
to  succeed.  The  sympathy  and  money  given  her  might 
have  been  much  more  wisely  expended  in  helping  some 
one  who  would  have  profited  thereby.  We  ourselves  rec- 
ommended that  this  girl  be  committed  to  an  institution, 
for  we  felt  that  the  mental  and  social  prognosis  was  ex- 
tremely unfavorable. 

SPECIAL  ABILITY  FOR  WORK  WITH  CONCRETE 
MATERIAL 

The  frequency  with  which  special  ability  for  working 
with  concrete  material  is  found  among  the  subnormal 
and  even  feeble-minded  has  already  been  mentioned. 
Those  segregated  in  good  institutions  often  profit  greatly 
by  the  very  thorough  training  they  receive  along  lines 
that  are  practical  and  useful  in  the  upkeep  of  the  institu- 
tion. In  the  special  rooms  of  the  public  schools  handwork 
forms  the  greater  part  of  the  curriculum.  A  questionable 
feature  of  this  is  found  in  the  practice  of  training  children 
so  largely  and  so  long  with  material  that  will  probably 
not  be  useful  after  the  child  withdraws  from  school; 
almost  none  will  later  weave  baskets  and  work  with  raffia 
and  reed.  In  some  schools  we  know  that  training  for 
definite  trades  is  given,  and  this  would  seem  a  wise  course 
to  pursue.  Many  of  the  subnormal  children  are  fitted 
only  for  occupations  that  require  manual  ability,  and  if 
they,  have  some  one  trade  at  which  they  are  able  to  do  well, 
it  must  surely  facilitate  vocational  success. 

Several  cases  are  presented  to  illustrate  the  above  points, 
instances  being  taken  wrhere  the  level  of  general  intelli- 
gence is  comparatively  low  in  order  to  demonstrate  the 
marked  contrast  that  may  exist  and  the  great  social  im- 
port of  special  abilities. 


GENERAL  MENTAL  SUBNORMALITY      211 

Case  43.  We  found  here  the  special  ability  in  marked 
contrast  to  general  subnormality  yet  unrecognized  until 
revealed  by  the  psychological  examination. 

Bernard  G.  was  17£  years  old  when  we  were  asked  to 
see  him.  The  psychological  examination  gave  clear 
evidence  of  the  mental  traits  in  which  this  boy  was 
particularly  weak  and  those  in  which  he  had  good  ability. 
Rote  memory  was  much  below  normal  for  his  age,  and 
his  inability  to  form  new  associations  was  evident  in  the 
so-called  substitution  learning  test,  where  a  number  is 
to  be  associated  with  a  symbol.  Powers  of  analysis  and 
judgment  were  likewise  poor.  Indeed,  the  boy  did  very 
badly  with  any  tests  for  the  higher  mental  functions. 
He  had  learned  little  during  his  seven  or  eight  years 
attendance  at  school ;  his  reading  was  very  poor,  and  he 
made  numerous  errors  on  the  processes  in  arithmetic. 
Judged  by  the  Binet  scale,  he  was  a  middle-grade  moron. 

The  significant  feature,  however,  as  far  as  social  life  was 
concerned,  was  the  fact  that  he  was  successful  on  all  types 
of  tests  which  require  good  manual  and  motor  ability. 
Construction  tests  were  done  very  well  and  quickly,  in  a 
manner  showing  an  appreciation  of  the  problems  and  a 
rational  method  of  solution ;  indeed,  they  were  performed 
quite  as  well  as  by  the  ordinary  normal  boy  of  his  age. 
Motor  coordinations  were  equally  as  good. 

There  was  nothing  of  any  significance  noted  on  physical 
examination.  The  boy  was  very  well  developed  and  well 
nourished ;  he  was  broad-shouldered  and  strong. 

Home  conditions  were  not  good;  the  father,  a  hard 
drinking  man,  had  frequently  deserted  the  family  and  had 
been  arrested  for  non-support.  The  mother  was  appar- 
ently a  very  good  woman,  and  Bernard  was  the  only  one 
of  the  six  living  children  who  had  caused  any  trouble. 
From  the  mother's  point  of  view  the  main  problem  was 
that  this  boy  did  not  work  steadily.  She  claimed  he  had 


212      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

a  great  number  of  positions,  but  he  did  not  keep  any  of 
them  long.  The  boy  himself  said  that  he  had  held  one 
position  for  a  year ;  at  that  time  he  worked  in  a  factory, 
after  which  he  had  been  delivery  boy  for  a  milkman. 

Earlier  the  boy  had  been  much  of  a  truant.  Later  he 
had  run  away  from  home  a  number  of  times,  staying  away 
for  a  period  as  long  as  six  months,  but,  of  course,  his 
father's  conduct  was  largely  responsible  for  this.  One 
of  the  social  agencies  had  been  assisting  the  family,  and 
they  wished  to  know  what  was  the  best  thing  to  do  for 
this  boy. 

One  interesting  feature  in  this  case  is  the  fact  that 
though  the  boy  had  attended  the  public  schools  of  a  large 
city,  he  had  not  been  examined  for  mentality  nor  been 
placed  in  a  special  room.  He  had  evidently  been  carried  on 
from  year  to  year.  He  had  received  no  special  instruc- 
tion in  handwork,  nor  had  he  been  prepared  for  any  trade. 

As  a  result  of  the  findings  on  tests,  it  was  advised  that 
this  boy  should  not  be  placed  in  any  unselected  position 
offered ;  for  instance,  he  was  not  fit  to  be  a  delivery  boy. 
His  memory  powers  were  very  poor,  and  he  needed  an 
occupation  that  gave  him  the  opportunity  to  use  those 
mental  capacities  in  which  he  was  practically  as  good  as 
the  normal.  He  probably  would  have  made  a  fairly 
successful  worker  at  some  trade  that  was  not  too  complex. 
Big  and  strong  as  he  was,  and  without  evidence  of  any 
severely  vicious  or  delinquent  tendencies,  there  seemed 
little  reason  to  believe  that  he  would  be  unable  to  maintain 
himself  in  the  community  if  proper  work  were  obtained 
for  him.  Aside  from  the  problem  of  eugenics  involved, 
there  certainly  seemed  no  reason  why  the  State  should 
support  this  boy. 

Case  44.  This  case,  though  so  briefly  studied,  is  cited 
to  show  the  successful  outcome  of  wise  vocational  adjust- 
ment, even  where  general  intelligence  is  low. 


GENERAL  MENTAL  SUBNORMALITT'      213 

Leo  N.,  16i  years,  attended  public  school  from  his 
seventh  to  his  sixteenth  year.  He  was  in  the  fifth  grade 
when  he  left  school,  having  been  promoted  without  really 
passing  after  two  years'  trial  in  the  third  grade.  The 
principal  of  the  school  told  us  he  always  considered  that 
Leo  was  "born  short."  The  boy  had  never  been  placed 
in  a  class  for  subnormal  children,  nor  had  he  received  any 
special  instruction  of  any  kind.  Our  examination  showed 
conclusively  that  most  of  the  time  spent  in  school  had 
been  virtually  wasted ;  the  boy's  mentality  precluded  the 
possibility  of  his  learning  by  the  usual  school  methods. 
He  had  acquired  very  little  in  any  of  the  school  branches ; 
he  did  not  even  write  his  own  name  well.  He  realized 
his  limitations,  saying  that  he  was  no  scholar  and  that  he 
could  not  learn  to  read.  However,  the  boy  showed  much 
dexterity  in  manual  work ;  he  did  several  tests  in  this  field 
very  well,  proving  himself  to  have  ability  to  reason  with 
concrete  material  and  to  have  very  good  psychomotor 
control.  This  boy  was  tested  before  the  present  Binet 
series  was  issued  or  our  own  present  tests  developed,  but 
there  is  no  doubt  that  Leo  would  have  graded  as  feeble- 
minded on  everything  except  in  handling  concrete  material. 
It  is  to  be  remembered,  however,  that  his  social  apper- 
ceptive  ability  was  good.  He  failed  on  almost  every  other 
kind  of  test.  Especially  poor  was  his  rote  memory  span 
and  his  learning  of  the  substitution  or  arbitrary  association 
test,  nor  did  he  remember  much  better  ideas  which  were 
logically  connected. 

We  strongly  urged  that  this  boy  be  placed  at  work  and 
taught  a  trade  where  his  special  abilities  might  come  into 
play.  This  was  done,  and  he  began  work  in  a  carpenter 
shop.  The  outcome  has  been  extremely  good ;  some  five 
years  after  first  seeing  the  boy  we  learned  that  he  has  never 
again  been  delinquent,  that  he  works  steadily  and  saves 
his  money,  is  quite  contented,  and  able  to  take  care  of 
himself  in  every  way. 


214      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

SPECIAL  ABILITY  IN  ROTE  MEMORY 

That  the  subnormal,  even  the  low-grade  feeble-minded, 
may  have  remarkably  good  powers  of  rote  memory  is  so 
well  known  that  the  fact  requires  no  lengthy  discussion. 
Merely  one  example  of  such  special  ability,  where  there 
is  marked  contrast  to  other  powers  that  are  quite  defec- 
tive, is  cited. 

Case  45.  James  C.,  Hi  years  old,  was  brought  to 
court  as  a  truant.  He  had  been  examined  previously  in 
another  clinic,  and  diagnosed  as  defective,  and  placed  in 
a  class  for  subnormal  children,  but  did  so  well  in  his 
school  work  there  that  he  was  removed  and  placed  in  a 
regular  grade. 

Physically  James  was  in  fair  general  condition.  Vision 
was  very  defective  in  one  eye  and  slightly  defective  in 
the  other,  but  he  wore  glasses  which  corrected  this  defect. 
Otherwise  nothing  significant  was  found.  According  to 
our  findings  on  the  Binet  scale,  James  was  just  about  three 
years  retarded.  It  is  worth  noting  that  he  failed  on  those 
Binet  tests  which  required  either  reasoning  or  common- 
sense  apperceptions.  Even  more  striking  was  his  in- 
ability to  perform  the  construction  tests,  except  the  sim- 
plest ones.  It  was  quite  apparent  that  he  had  poor  per- 
ception of  relationships  of  form  and  that  he  did  not  use 
any  reasoning  in  solving  problems  of  this  type.  Tests 
for  analysis  and  mental  representation  were  complete 
failures.  His  general  reactions  were  very  slow  and  he 
showed  poor  control  of  verbal  associations. 

In  contradistinction  to  his  failures,  we  found  that  he  did 
very  well  on  rote  memory  work.  Memory  span  was  nor- 
mal for  his  age,  and  furthermore,  he  had  learned  school 
work  of  the  first  three  grades  —  the  only  ones  which  he 
had  attended  —  so  well  that  he  was  able  to  make  quite  a 
good  record  on  tests  for  the  work  of  these  grades.  He  read 


GENEEAL  MENTAL  SUBXORMALITY      215 

fluently,  without  mispronouncing  any  words  in  a  second- 
grade  passage,  and  on  a  third-grade  passage  made  only 
one  error,  mispronouncing  the  word  "Autumn."  He 
could  give  a  correct  though  somewhat  meagre  reproduction 
of  what  he  had  read.  His  writing  was  quite  good,  and 
his  spelling  about  average  for  his  age  and  grade.  As  for 
number  work,  he  could  add  and  subtract,  and  knew  the 
simpler  parts  of  the  multiplication  tables. 

Because  of  his  good  powers  of  rote  memory,  by  means 
of  which  he  had  learned  the  ordinary  school  subjects  of 
the  lower  grades,  he  was  accounted  by  some  as  being  con- 
siderably brighter  than  wider  testing  showed  him  to  be. 
Of  course,  he  was  retarded  in  school,  but  we  must  re- 
member that  he  had  been  truant  a  good  deal,  and  that 
for  a  tune  he  had  been  in  a  room  for  subnormal  children. 
Later  we  learned  that  he  was  committed  to  a  school  for 
truants,  from  whence  came  the  report  that  though  the 
boy  had  some  learning  ability,  he  could  not  adapt  himself 
to  the  regime  of  the  institution. 

In  the  light  of  the  results  on  a  number  of  tests,  there  is 
no  doubt  that  this  boy  was  subnormal  or  high-grade  feeble- 
minded. Probably  the  time  will  soon  come  when  he  will 
be  unable  to  maintain  his  position  in  the  ordinary  class- 
room, for  we  have  no  doubt  he  will  fail  to  progress  when 
the  work  becomes  difficult  and  demands  reasoning  and 
analysis,  in  both  of  which  he  is  so  lacking. 

On  the  basis  of  the  results  of  tests,  one  cannot  feel  that 
the  best  training  for  this  boy  is  the  ordinary  handwork,  so 
largely  taught  in  special  classes.  He  does  not  seem  to 
have  any  ability  for  this  type  of  work.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  quite  possible  that  his  good  rote  memory  powers, 
by  further  training,  might  become  a  valuable  asset  hi 
his  future  career.  There  is  no  reason  why  such  a  lad 
could  not  be  trained  to  become  a  fairly  good  clerical  worker. 
He  would  never  be  able  to  keep  a  position  of  responsibility 


216      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

where  judgment  was  required,  but  he  might  get  on  very 
well  in  routine  work  where  little  was  left  to  his  own  initia- 
tive or  judgment. 

BORDER-LINE  CASES 

Sometimes  it  is  most  difficult  to  make  a  clear-cut  general 
statement  in  regard  to  mental  capacities.  There  are 
border-line  cases  which  even  after  long  observation  and 
perhaps  repeated  psychological  testing  still  are  difficult 
to  classify.  From  the  standpoint  of  practical  treatment 
the  first  necessity  lies  in  reaching  a  decision  as  to  whether 
such  individuals  require  institutional  care  or  not.  Be- 
yond the  point  of  setting  forth  the  fact  of  feeble-minded- 
ness,  that  is,  social  incompetency,  the  terminology  used 
to  designate  general  ability  quantitatively  is  not  so  im- 
portant, since  if  the  special  abilities  and  disabilities  are 
known,  good  methods  of  training  will  take  these  into  ac- 
count regardless  of  any  classification.  The  same  is  true 
when  we  consider  vocational  possibilities.  We  must 
remember  that  specialized  defects  of  certain  types  may 
influence  a  number  of  tests  and  will  lead  to  erroneous  final 
judgment  if  not  known  as  such.  Thus,  language  disability 
is  often  such  a  handicap  in  the  Binet  scale  that  an  in- 
dividual otherwise  normal  may  grade,  according  to  this 
system,  as  feeble  minded. 

Case  46.  To  illustrate  such  a  problem,  a  typical  case 
is  presented  where  abilities  and  disabilities  are  clearly 
seen,  and  where  the  mental  classification  is  open  to 
question. 

Frederick  J.  was  first  seen  when  he  was  13  years  9 
months  old.  At  that  time  he  was  in  the  third  grade  in 
school.  He  had  been  persistently  truant,  but  engaged  in 
no  other  form  of  deliquency.  He  was  born  in  America 
of  English  speaking  parents. 


GENERAL  MENTAL  SUBNORMALITY      217 

Physically  he  was  in  good  condition,  except  for  traces  of 
a  speech  trouble  which  earlier  had  been  severe.  As  for 
the  mental  examination,  he  made  a  very  good  record  on 
the  construction  tests  and  all  work  with  concrete  material. 
Indeed,  some  of  the  more  difficult  tests,  which  require 
reasoning  and  quite  good  insight,  were  not  very  difficult 
for  him.  A  striking  difference  was  found  between  the 
auditory  and  vislial  memory  fields,  the  former  being  very 
much  better  of  the  two.  He  gave  a  good  reproduction 
of  a  passage  read  to  him,  so  far  as  the  ideas  contained 
therein  were  concerned,  —  he  omitted  only  one  of  the 
twelve  items,  —  but  in  his  account  there  was  no  adherence 
to  verbal  accuracy  and  little  regard  for  logical  sequence. 
Visual  memory  tests  were  miserable  failures.  It  was  quite 
apparent  that  the  boy  had  exceedingly  poor  powers  of 
visualization. 

Perhaps  this  lack  was  a  factor  in  the  failure  on  tests  for 
mental  representation  and  analysis.  On  these  he  never 
succeeded  even  in  numerous  trials.  After  seeing  a  figure, 
he  could  not  reproduce  it  from  memory,  nor  could  he 
recognize  the  various  parts  when  the  figure  was  analyzed. 
His  associative  processes  were  decidedly  defective.  He 
made  many  errors  in  giving  the  opposites  of  very  simple 
words.  He  had  much  difficulty  in  forming  new  associa- 
tions between  arbitrary  symbols,  the  record  on  this  test 
being  exceedingly  poor. 

The  results  on  school  work  were  quite  discrepant.  He 
did  work  in  arithmetic  out  of  proportion  to  his  ability  to 
read  and  write;  he  could  add,  subtract,  and  multiply 
accurately.  On  the  other  hand,  he  could  not  write  any- 
thing except  his  own  name,  not  even  the  individual 
letters  of  the  alphabet;  he  could  not  read  the  letters 
when  they  were  shown  him,  nor  could  he  always  recog- 
nize them,  though  he  could  say  the  alphabet  without 
error.  Neither  could  he  read  the  simplest  passage. 


218      PSYCHOLOGY  OP  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

He  failed  to  recognize  such  simple  monosyllables  as 
"am "and  "in." 

About  two  and  one  half  years  after  we  first  saw  Fred- 
erick, we  had  occasion  to  study  him  once  more.  At  that 
time  we  found  that  his  disabilities  were  as  striking  as  pre- 
viously. He  showed  much  difficulty  in  the  correct  use  of 
language  and  was  still  exceedingly  defective  in  visual 
memory  powers.  He  told  us  that  he  had  made  one  more 
grade  in  school,  having  finished  the  fourth  when  he  with- 
drew at  fourteen  years.  In  the  intervening  years  the 
boy  had  gained  practically  nothing  in  either  reading  or 
writing ;  his  spelling  was  almost  unbelievably  inaccurate ; 
he  could  not  write  the  name  of  the  school  which  he  had 
been  attending,  and  it  would  have  been  impossible  to 
have  interpreted  his  writing  without  his  own  explanation. 
He  still  could  not  read,  but  as  for  number  work,  he  per- 
formed correctly  the  three  of  the  fundamental  processes 
which  he  had  been  taught,  namely,  addition,  subtraction 
and  multiplication. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  this  boy  shows  on  psychological 
tests  that  he  has  certain  innate  defects,  it  is  difficult  to 
know  whether  he  should  be  regarded  as  an  out-and-out 
feeble-minded,  or  whether  in  the  light  of  his  good  ability 
along  certain  lines  it  would  not  be  practically  more  help- 
ful to  consider  him  a  case  of  specialized  defects.  Accord- 
ing to  the  Binet  scales  he  grades  through  ten  years,  his 
failures  being  entirely  on  language  tests  and  the  one  for 
visual  memory.  Of  course,  his  disabilities  are  quite  ex- 
tensive. Without  doubt  he  is  extremely  poor  in  visual 
powers  and  likewise  in  the  field  of  language.  Perhaps 
these  two  weaknesses  will  account  for  his  poor  records  on 
association  tests  and  form  the  basis  of  his  inability  to 
learn  reading,  writing,  and  spelling;  but  on  the  other 
hand  it  might  be  argued  that  his  ability  to  learn  arithmetic 
and  to  make  ordinary  computations,  as  well  as  his  capabili- 


GENEEAL  MENTAL  SUBNORMALITY      219 

ties  along  motor  lines,  are  simply  special  capacities  not 
at  all  incompatible  with  feeble-mindedness.  One  could 
present  quite  good  arguments  for  either  diagnosis. 

Practically,  however,  as  above  stated,  it  does  not  much 
matter  if  one  reaches  the  conclusion  that  the  boy  is  not  a 
fit  subject  for  an  institution.  We  know,  at  least,  that 
certain  types  of  work  are  well-nigh  impossible  for  him  to 
learn,  and  that  he  will  probably  always  be  unsuited  for 
certain  occupations.  On  the  other  hand,  he  should  have 
training  along  industrial  lines  and  then  later  engage  in 
some  definite  trade.  Whether  he  could  ever  gain  even 
moderate  facility  in  the  handling  of  language  and  learn  to 
read  and  write,  is  a  doubtful  matter,  since  his  disabilities 
are  pretty  widespread.  We  do  not  know  that  any  emphasis 
was  placed  upon  phonetic  drill  in  his  schooling  so  that 
the  boy  could  benefit  by  his  good  auditory  powers,  or 
that  any  methods  were  ever  used  adapted  to  his  particular 
problem.  One  interesting  fact  which  always  stood  in 
the  way  of  proper  training  with  this  lad  was  the  father's 
attitude ;  he  said  he  did  not  want  the  boy  to  use  tools, 
he  wanted  him  to  be  "educated." 


CHAPTER  X 
GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS 

IT  is  not  the  author's  purpose  to  offer  any  specific 
devices  guaranteed  to  overcome  defects  or  to  develop 
abilities.  Since  each  individual  problem-case  would 
seem  to  require  intelligent  consideration  on  the  basis  of 
all  data  that  can  be  gathered  concerning  it,  it  naturally 
follows  that  no  general  formulae  for  treatment  can  be 
given,  no  dogmatic  statements  made  in  regard  to  general 
constructive  measures.  Rather,  we  would  reiterate  a 
trite  and  perhaps  commonplace  observation  that  the 
human  mind  is  wonderfully  complex,  that,  in  consequence, 
capacities  frequently  can  be  determined  only  by  pains- 
taking investigation  and  thoughtful  consideration  of  all 
that  goes  to  make  the  given  results  on  tests. 

The  first  principle  of  progress  towards  the  goal  of  devel- 
oping each  individual  in  relation  to  his  potentialities  is 
recognition  of  the  actual  need  for  individual  adjustment. 
To  realize  that  such  a  problem  exists,  to  be  able  to  for- 
mulate it  clearly  in  one's  own  mind,  to  see  its  significance 
and  its  relation  to  life,  is  the  first  step  toward  its  solution. 
It  has  been  the  purpose  in  the  preceding  chapters  to  pre- 
sent types  of  abilities  and  disabilities  that  require  special 
consideration,  as  well  as  to  prove  the  practical  importance 
of  directing  efforts  in  accordance  with  these  mental  char- 
acteristics. 

We  must  view  critically  the  present  means  for  meeting 
the  situation.  Ungraded  classes,  "floating  teachers", 

220 


GENEKAL  CONCLUSIONS  221 

junior  and  senior  high  schools  and  other  administrative 
measures,  advancement  in  school  by  subjects  rather  than 
by  grades,  are  all  helpful,  but  inadequate.  Courses  in 
household  and  practical  arts,  commercial,  industrial,  and 
agricultural  training,  offer  greater  scope  for  adapting 
education  to  individual  capacities  and  interests  than  was 
possible  in  the  past,  but  these,  too,  are  not  enough. 
More  fundamental  than  all  of  these,  because  offering  the 
basis  of  the  wise  and  rational  use  of  all  special  training, 
is  the  need  for  educational  diagnosis.  Before  under- 
taking treatment  the  ailment  must  be  known ;  the  cause 
of  the  trouble  must  be  determined  before  steps  can  be 
taken  looking  toward  effective  remedy.  This  is  as  true 
of  mental  peculiarity  as  of  physical  troubles,  and  it 
applies  in  educational  and  vocational  life  as  truly  as  in 
any  other  field. 

Of  course  we  must  appreciate  the  complexities  inherent 
in  any  effort  to  study  an  individual's  mental  character- 
istics, and  while  realizing  the  folly  of  minimizing  the 
difficulties  and  limitations,  we  should  not  lose  sight  of 
the  many  important  and  helpful  facts  that  can  be  learned. 
At  present  there  are  many  gaps  in  the  knowledge  required 
for  a  scientific  study  of  human  beings ;  we  cannot  always 
distinguish  between  mental  traits ;  we  do  not  know  with 
surety  where  one  process  ends  and  another  begins,  or 
how  one  is  related  to  another.  We  do  not  know  the  best 
age  at  which  to  study  individuals  in  order  to  determine 
the  facts  which  should  modify  education.  Mental  tests 
in  their  present  stage  of  development  cannot  answer  all 
our  problems. 

This  is,  however,  no  reason  why  we  should  not  make 
use  of  such  means  of  reaching  helpful  conclusions  as  are 
now  available.  Even  though  subtle  distinctions  cannot 
be  made  and  minute  individual  differences  discriminated, 
we  may  find  many  illuminating  suggestions  in  special  in- 


222      PSYCHOLOGY  OP  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

stances  of  failures  and  successes.  There  is  little  value  in 
the  effort  to  read  into  results  of  tests  more  than  they  are 
known  to  reveal,  to  make  on  such  a  basis  generalizations 
that  are  only  assumptions  not  open  to  proof.  It  is  wiser 
to  confess  frankly  that  correlations  between  mental  pro- 
cesses involved  in  definite  tests  and  complex  activities, 
educational  and  vocational,  are  not  yet  established.  But 
this  does  not  lessen  a  whit  the  value  of  findings  which 
indicate  peculiarities  in  individual  mental  functioning. 
It  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  discover  all  one  can  of  the 
characteristic  mental  traits  of  individuals  and  to  guide 
practical  procedure  in  the  light  of  these  findings. 

Many  practically  valuable  diagnoses  may  be  made  if 
we  are  aware  of  the  individual  differences  that  exist  and 
are  intelligent  enough  to  interpret  reactions  that  indicate 
need  for  special  adaptations.  Such  study  of  mental 
make-up  as  has  been  indicated  in  the  chapter  on  Mental 
Diagnosis  can  be  undertaken  by  those  trained  for  the 
task.  In  the  chapter  on  Differential  Diagnosis  is  dis- 
cussed the  care  which  must  be  exercised  before  final 
conclusions  are  reached.  If  the  examination  is  thorough 
and  made  under  favorable  conditions,  psychological  tests, 
in  spite  of  all  possible  criticisms,  illuminate  many  a  situa- 
tion and  give  an  insight  into  traits  that  are  fundamental 
for  training  and  for  vocational  life. 

We  know,  for  instance,  of  a  boy  now  14  years  old  whose 
entire  school  career  has  undoubtedly  been  greatly  modi- 
fied for  the  better  because  his  intelligent  parents  under- 
stood better  than  his  teachers  the  harm  that  was  result- 
ing from  the  use  of  methods  not  adapted  to  his  defective 
functioning  in  certain  mental  processes.  It  was  early 
recognized  that  the  boy  had  poor  auditory  powers  and 
exceptionally  good  visual  powers.  When  five  years 
old  he  drew  a  very  good  representation  of  the  facade  of 
an  ancient  university  building  he  had  seen,  and  at  seven 


GENERAL   CONCLUSIONS  223 

made  a  most  complicated  drawing  of  a  quadruple  expan- 
sion waterworks  engine.  Though  a  great  effort  was 
made  from  the  time  he  was  a  year  or  so  old  to  teach  him 
Mother-Goose  rhymes  and  other  couplets,  he  never  re- 
cited correctly  the  simplest  verse  until  he  was  six  years 
old ;  nor  has  he  ever  been  able  to  carry  a  tune  correctly  or 
sing  a  song,  in  spite  of  intensive  and  oft  repeated  attempts 
to  teach  him  simple  music.  It  is  interesting  to  note,  for 
instance,  that  "America"  has  been  sung  and  played  to 
him  hundreds  of  times  and  even  been  played  by  him  with- 
out his  acquiring  the  ability  to  sing  it. 

At  five  years  of  age  this  boy  was  sent  to  a  fine  private 
school  where  the  teaching  in  the  first  grades  was  largely 
oral.  When  in  the  third  grade  he  was  placed  in  a  sub- 
class for  backward  children  because  he  was  so  retarded  in 
number  work.  Though  the  boy  made  no  progress  in 
music  nor  in  memorizing  verses,  this  was  not  interpreted 
as  of  any  significance,  nor  was  any  effort  made  to  utilize 
his  good  visual  powers  in  place  of  his  defective  powers  of 
audition.  When,  however,  his  parents  were  told  (by  an 
unusually  competent  teacher)  that  the  boy  was  not  learn- 
ing arithmetic  and  was  probably  defective  in  this  type  of 
work,  they  themselves  began  to  teach  him  by  visual  pres- 
entations. In  two  weeks  he  had  not  only  mastered  the 
work  assigned  the  grade,  but  led  his  class.  In  the  next 
two  years,  acquiring  the  power  to  learn  by  visualization, 
he  accomplished  the  ordinary  work  of  four  school  grades. 
Now,  at  fourteen,  through  extensive  compensations,  little 
difficulty  arises;  he  transposes,  probably  often  uncon- 
sciously, many  auditory  percepts  into  visual  form.  His 
own  introspections,  as  well  as  his  method  of  studying, 
show  very  conclusively  that  visual  means  are  employed 
whenever  possible.  His  powers  of  perceiving  logical  rela- 
tionships are  extremely  good,  and  these,  together  with  his 
quite  unusual  visual  gifts,  enable  him  to  maintain  class 


224      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES   AND   DISABILITIES 

standings  considerably  in  advance  of  his  years.  It  is 
interesting  that  even  now  his  greatest  disability  is  in 
regard  to  language ;  in  spite  of  all  the  advantages  derived 
from  the  best  of  environmental  conditions,  the  boy 
shows  poor  feeling  in  the  use  of  English.  In  dealing 
with  foreign  languages  there  is  great  aptness  displayed  in 
learning  the  structural  form,  but  quite  a  little  trouble  with 
achieving  an  idiomatic  translation.  It  is  evident  that  In 
this  field  he  is  hardly  at  all  aided  by  sound. 

From  such  concrete  examples  of  what  must  be  fre- 
quently occurring  in  school  life  we  can  draw  several  prac- 
tical conclusions.  One  important  point  to  emphasize 
is  that  our  experience  has  shown  us  in  large  measure  that 
unfortunately  the  present  tendency  in  mental  and  edu- 
cational diagnosis  is  to  emphasize  only  defects  and  dis- 
abilities, to  grade  the  child  down,  rather  than  up.  Little 
or  no  effort  is  made  to  discover  if  there  are  any  gifts  or 
unusual  abilities  that  might  offer  hope  for  useful  devel- 
opment. In  contrast  to  this  we  must  insist  that  if  there 
is  any  desire  to  attain  the  greatest  measure  of  success  and 
usefulness,  the  good  as  well  as  the  bad  must  be  regarded, 
the  positive  as  well  as  the  negative  aspects,  the  poten- 
tialities as  well  as  the  disabilities. 

What  can  be  done  to  compensate  for  or  to  minimize 
defect  can  only  be  determined  on  the  basis  of  the  special 
conditions  that  exist  in  each  individual  case.  In  general 
the  balance  should  be  preserved  between  reasonable  ex- 
penditure of  tune  and  energy  and  the  value  of  the  results 
that  we  may  hope  to  achieve.  To  make  no  attempt  to 
improve  the  defective  condition  will  surely  not  be  wise; 
what  definite  steps  shall  be  undertaken  and  how  long 
they  shall  be  continued,  depends  in  each  case  upon  the 
original  diagnosis  and  upon  the  improvement  that  fol- 
lows definite  training  of  various  types.  The  possibilities 
or  the  limitations  can  be  learned  only  through  experl- 


GENERAL   CONCLUSIONS  225 

mental  endeavors  with  each  individual.  If  the  defect 
is  the  direct  cause  of  failure  in  a  subject  that  can  be 
learned  in  some  other  way,  common  sense  alone  would 
urge  that  methods  be  used  based  on  the  powers  that 
would  give  mastery  of  the  subject.  After  all,  attain- 
ment of  such  mastery  is  the  end,  and  means  or  methods 
used  are  valuable  in  direct  proportion  to  the  measure  of 
success  in  achieving  the  end. 

Analysis  of  the  mental  processes  which  are  elements  in 
activities  for  which  defect  exists  would  seem  to  offer  the 
greatest  hope  of  rationally  attacking  the  problems  of 
specialized  incapacity.  We  have  attempted  to  make 
such  analysis  for  school  subjects  in  the  case  of  language 
and  number  work.  As  experimentation  progresses,  much 
greater  knowledge  will,  no  doubt,  be  gained  concerning 
the  psychology  of  these  and  other  complex  activities  as 
well  as  of  the  separate  mental  processes.  This  knowl- 
edge can  then  be  applied  in  the  solving  of  such  problems 
as  those  of  educational  and  vocational  adjustments. 

The  exact  degree  to  which  defective  powers  can  be 
improved  is  not  definitely  known,  no  matter  whether  the 
defect  concerns  perception,  memory,  association,  speed  of 
reactions,  or  any  other  phase  of  mental  life.  But  defi- 
nite training  and  practice  are  so  generally  effective  — 
many  experimental  studies  of  the  learning  process  also 
prove  the  fact  —  that  it  seems  only  fair  to  conclude  that 
even  where  powers  are  exceedingly  low  they  can  be  vastly 
increased  by  intensive  training. 

To  what  extent  visual,  auditory,  motor,  or  other  types 
of  presentation  should  be  stressed  in  education  can  be 
determined  only  in  the  light  of  what  is  learned  concern- 
ing the  abilities  and  disabilities  in  each  of  these  fields. 
If  there  is  a  defect  in  any  one  of  these  aspects  of  mental 
life,  devices  should  be  found  for  developing  the  defective 
power  in  as  far  as  this  is  possible,  while  compensating 


226      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

powers  should  be  utilized  as  well.  The  same  general 
principle  applies  to  the  relative  emphasis  to  be  placed 
on  either  memory  or  reasoning,  wherever  the  problem 
is  that  of  habituation  versus  rationalization. 

Where  concepts  are  lacking,  actual  experience  with  the 
concrete  should  precede  further  efforts  to  master  abstrac- 
tions. The  step  from  the  concrete  to  the  abstract  is 
often  difficult  for  the  child  to  make ;  in  consequence  it  is 
frequently  necessary  to  help  him  in  making  this  transi- 
tion. Specific  devices  will  suggest  themselves  to  every 
skillful  teacher,  once  she  is  aware  of  the  problem.1 

There  is  less  doubt  about  the  procedure  advisable  for 
the  utilization  of  special  abilities.  Surely,  capacities 
that  are  found  to  exist  should  be  trained  intensively; 
they  should  be  made  to  compensate  for  any  other  lack, 
in  so  far  as  this  is  possible.  In  them  lies  the  greatest 
hope  for  the  individual's  future,  not  only  from  the  stand- 
point of  later  vocational  and  industrial  life,  but  also  for 
the  development  of  wholesome  interests  and  moral  wel- 
fare. 

At  what  age  the  study  of  the  mental  processes,  through 
testing  and  other  means,  should  be  undertaken  can  only 
be  answered  in  general  terms.  For  several  reasons,  we 
believe  that  it  should  be  begun  as  soon  as  possible 

1  Unfortunately,  at  the  present  time  there  is  no  standard  work  on  the 
devices  which  may  be  utilized  for  the  training  of  special  abilities  and  dis- 
abilities. Here  and  there,  widely  scattered  in  the  literature  of  special 
subjects,  there  may  be  found  treatment  of  particular  points.  One  may 
consult  with  most  promise  of  help  the  good  bibliographies  of  William 
Stern  ("  Differentielle  Psychologic."  Leipzig,  1911)  and  Ernst  Meumann 
("  Vorlesungen  zur  Einfiihrung  in  die  Experimented  Padagogik."  1914) . 
In  the  American  journals  of  education  and  psychology  there  are  many 
articles  that  contain  suggestions  and  hints.  Of  course,  there  are  vol- 
umes on  methods  of  teaching,  both  general  and  special,  but  none  based 
on  anything  more  than  the  main  laws  of  mental  life,  laws  which  are 
applicable  to  all  activities  rather  than  to  the  peculiarities  of  special 
cases.  In  spite  of  much  experimentation,  little  has  been  written  con- 
cerning the  training  of  the  separate  mental  processes  other  than  by 
practice. 


GENEKAL  CONCLUSIONS  227 

after  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  individual  pre- 
sents a  problem.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  one  should  not  be 
needlessly  anxious,  remembering  that  some  children 
learn  slowly,  and  that  frequently  some  time  elapses  be- 
fore the  child  adjusts  himself  to  any  new  conditions  of 
school  life.  When  failure  continues  after  a  short  period 
of  training  and  effort,  psychological  study  of  the  mental 
life  should  be  made. 

The  first  and  most  obvious  advantage  of  early  investi- 
gation is  the  saving  of  time  that  would  otherwise  be 
wasted.  The  second  is  the  prevention  of  discouragement 
and  loss  of  interest.  With  the  consciousness  of  failure 
there  is,  all  too  frequently,  emotional  disturbance  leading 
to  the  development  of  a  bad  attitude,  either  towards  the 
difficult  subject  or  towards  school  in  general.  Frequently 
the  child  is  subjected  to  teasing  by  his  comrades,  or  to 
scolding  by  his  teachers;  sometimes  friction  arises  at 
home  as  well  as  at  school,  and  as  a  consequence  of  all 
these  irritations,  anti-social  grudges  are  formed.  Be- 
cause of  these  conditions,  leading  to  lack  of  self-confi- 
dence and  sometimes  to  excessive  mental  disturbances,  we 
find  that  it  is  often  extremely  difficult  to  induce  the  older 
child  or  adolescent  to  make  any  efforts  under  systematic 
guidance  to  overcome  the  defects.  Again  and  again  we 
have  seen  that  in  spite  of  desire  to  master  the  difficulty, 
emotions  may  be  stronger  than  ambition. 

One  interesting  discovery,  mentioned  several  times  inci- 
dentally in  our  case-histories,  is  the  fact  that  occasionally 
the  individual,  as  he  grows  older,  realizes  the  cause  of  his 
failure  and  through  his  own  effort,  frequently  clumsy, 
accomplishes  more  than  years  of  school  training  had 
achieved.  Because  of  this  truth,  we  would  urge  that  the 
teacher  and  vocational  guide  adopt  the  attitude  of  the 
scientist.  If,  for  example,  the  teacher  saw  in  each  un- 
usual child  a  particular  problem  to  be  solved,  if  reactions 


228      PSYCHOLOGY   OF   ABILITIES   AND   DISABILITIES 

were  viewed  in  the  light  of  their  significance  for  the  solu- 
tion of  that  problem,  teaching  would  become  vitalized. 
In  the  schoolroom  and  in  the  shop,  valuable  data  could 
be  gathered,  various  hypotheses  tested,  and  experimental 
pedagogy  evolved.  The  school,  through  the  attitude  of 
its  teachers,  could  become  an  experimental  station,  — 
and  experimental  stations  in  connection  with  education 
are  one  of  our  most  urgent  needs. 

Indeed,  it  is  only  through  cooperation  of  parent, 
teacher,  vocational  guide,  and  even  employer  with  the 
clinical  psychologist  that  headway  can  be  made.  The 
clinician  can  offer  a  prognosis  and  recommendations  for 
practical  procedure;  but  the  truth  of  the  prognosis 
and  the  value  of  the  recommendations  can  be  determined 
only  by  surveying  them  in  the  light  of  the  results  that 
follow  directed  efforts.  Analysis  of  successes  and  fail- 
ures in  the  individual  case  is  the  only  possible  means  of 
ultimately  determining  the  correctness  of  a  diagnosis  and 
the  efficacy  of  methods  of  treatment.  And  such  critical 
evaluation,  it  may  be  added,  is  one  essential  requirement, 
needed  almost  more  than  anything  else,  for  further  devel- 
opment and  growth  of  the  science  of  clinical  psychology. 

Scientific  study  of  human  reactions  is  in  its  infancy. 
With  the  further  development  of  mental  tests,  with 
greater  ability  to  interpret  test  results,  with  more  knowl- 
edge of  the  correlations  that  exist  between  different  men- 
tal functions,  as  well  as  between  these  and  educational 
and  vocational  pursuits,  we  may  hope  for  vastly  greater 
understanding  of  the  varied  problems  of  mental  disa- 
bilities and  for  wiser  utilization  of  special  abilities. 


APPENDIX 
RECORDS  OF  PSYCHOLOGICAL  EXAMINATION 

To  aid  in  interpreting  the  summaries  of  case-studies 
cited  below,  a  brief  description  is  here  given  of  the  tests 
used,  which  include  the  Binet-Simon  scale,  series  of  1911 
unless  otherwise  stated ;  the  Healy-Fernald  tests,  detailed 
description  of  which  can  be  found  in  Psychological  Mono- 
graph Number  54.  To  these  are  added  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  other  tests  described  in  many  different  books  and 
journals.  Other  measuring  scales  are  sometimes  used, 
especially  the  Terman  scale;  frequently  the  latter  is  em- 
ployed as  an  alternative  for  retesting  when  the  Binet  scale 
has  been  previously  used.  Most  of  the  cases  reported  were 
studied  before  the  publication  of  the  Yerkes-Bridges  scale. 
The  main  tests  include :  — 

Introductory  Test :  —  This  is  a  combination  of  the  form 
board  with  the  picture  puzzle.  The  seven  pieces  are  quite 
dissimilar  in  shape  and  have  distinctive  parts  of  the  picture 
printed  on  them,  two  are  nearly  interchangeable,  and  two 
are  right  triangles  which  fit  into  an  equilateral  triangle. 
These  last  two  give  a  good  opportunity  for  studying  the 
subject's  ability  to  profit  by  trial  and  error. 

Construction  Test  I :  —  This  is  a  wooden  frame  into  which 
five  pieces  are  to  be  fitted.  While  there  are  a  number  of 
possible  positions  into  which  the  various  pieces  can  be  put 
there  is  only  one  correct  position  for  each  piece,  although 
any  four  of  them  can  be  placed  in  a  number  of  ways.  This 
test  involves  the  subject's  perception  of  space  relationships 
and  also  shows  his  planfulness  and  ability  to  profit  by  past 
trials. 

229 


230      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

Construction  Test  II :  —  This  involves  the  same  mental 
elements  as  the  first  construction  test.  It  is,  however, 
more  complex,  as  there  are  many  more  alternative  moves. 

The  Puzzle  Box :  —  The  purpose  of  this  test  is  to  bring 
out  abilities  or  defects  in  manipulative  power  and  the  abil- 
ity to  analyze  a  slightly  complicated  concrete  situation. 
The  box  is  fastened  by  a  series  of  strings  passed  over  posts 
which  can  be  unfastened  only  in  a  certain  sequence.  As 
one  side  of  the  box  is  glass,  the  entire  arrangement  can  be 
seen. 

Cross  Line  Test  I:  —  The  investigator  draws  a  large  X 
on  a  sheet  of  paper  in  front  of  the  subject,  calling  attention 
to  the  fact  that  the  figure  is  made  up  of  four  parts.  These 
are  then  numbered,  the  order  in  which  the  numbers  are 
placed  with  regard  to  the  figure  being  emphasized  and  after 
the  subject  has  had  ample  chance  to  look  at  the  model,  it  is 
turned  over.  The  different  angles  are  drawn  one  by  one 
and  the  subject  is  asked  to  tell  what  number  belongs  in  each. 
If  he  fails  he  is  allowed  to  draw  and  number  the  figure  him- 
self and  try  again.  This  and  the  two  tests  following  involve 
the  power  of  mental  representation  of  the  model,  together 
with  the  ability  to  analyze  it  into  its  parts  and  recall  the 
numbers  corresponding  to  the  parts. 

Cross  Line  Test  II:  —  The  procedure  is  the  same  as  the 
above  except  that  the  figure  is  the  one  used  by  children  in 
the  game  of  "  Tit-tat-to  ",  and  is  made  up  of  nine  parts. 

Code  Test:  —  By  combination  of  the  two  cross  line  tests 
a  complete  alphabetical  code  can  be  arranged.  After  the 
subject  has  studied  it,  it  is  turned  over,  and  he  is  given  a 
sentence  to  write  in  the  code.  Because  of  the  greater  num- 
ber of  parts  to  be  worked  out  from  the  subject's  recollection 
of  the  general  scheme,  this  test  indicates  ability  to  control 
mental  processes  as  well  as  ability  to  grasp  the  idea  of  a 
code. 

Pictorial  Completion  Test  :  —  This  test  is  a  picture  repre- 
senting ten  activities  from  which  ten  squares  of  equal  size 
have  been  cut  out  so  that  on  each  piece  is  a  part  essential  to 
the  meaning  of  the  whole.  There  are  forty  more  pieces  on 


APPENDIX  231 

which  are  drawn  objects  that  do  not  logically  complete  the 
picture.  The  subject  is  told  to  insert  the  pieces  that  "  make 
the  best  sense."  The  test  indicates  the  subject's  power  of 
apperception  with  this  type  of  material. 

The  Ebbinghaus  Completion  Test :  —  This  is  the  muti- 
lated text  test  where  omitted  words  are  to  be  supplied.  The 
Trabue  scales  have  been  used  since  their  publication. 

Arbitrary  Association  or  Substitution  Test: — This  test 
shows  the  ability  of  the  subject  to  form  associations  between 
a  set  of  symbols  and  numerals. 

Tests  of  Memory  for  Logical  Material  :  —  Two  passages, 
one  to  test  auditory  verbal  and  the  other  to  test  visual  verbal 
memory  are  used. 

Tests  for  Memory  Span  :  —  Numerals  are  presented  audi- 
torily and  visually  until  the  point  is  reached  at  which  the 
subject  makes  an  error.  Sentences  containing  an  increasing 
number  of  syllables  are  also  used. 

Tests  for  Visual  Memory  :  —  The  usual  Binet  visual  test 
is  supplemented  by  a  number  of  other  tests,  including  several 
similar  in  character. 

Tests  for  Remote  Memory  :  —  Reproduction  of  tests  given 
at  an  earlier  date,  including  not  only  memory  passages,  but 
tests  for  remembrance  of  form,  events,  etc. 

Tapping  Test  :  —  In  this  test  for  psychomotor  control  the 
subject  inserts  a  dot  as  rapidly  as  possible  in  half  inch  squares 
without  touching  the  lines  or  missing  the  squares. 

Tests  for  Controlled  Association:  —  The  subject  is  given 
a  word  to  which  he  is  to  reply  by  a  word  bearing  an  assigned 
relationship  to  the  stimulus  word;  the  relationship  may  be 
that  of  opposite,  genus-species,  agent-object,  mixed  relation- 
ship, etc.  The  lists  standardized  by  Woodworth  and  Wells 
are  used  ;  the  time  reaction  for  each  word  is  recorded. 

Kraepelin  Addition  and  Subtraction  Tests  :  —  These  are 
the  well  known  continuous  addition  and  subtraction  tests 
used  to  gauge  mental  control. 

Aussage  Test  :  —  The  butcher-shop  picture  is  exposed  for 
ten  seconds,  after  which  the  subject  gives  a  free  account  of 
what  he  has  seen,  followed  by  answers  to  direct  questions. 


232      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

Instruction  Box  :  —  Six  steps  are  necessary  to  open  a  box. 
These  steps  are  shown  the  subject,  who  then  is  to  follow  the 
directions  given.  The  errors  made  and  the  number  of  trials 
required  to  open  the  box  are  recorded. 

Analogies  Test  :  —  We  use  the  test  as  given  in  the  Yerkes- 
Bridges,  Terman,  and  other  scales.  The  subject  is  to  insert 
in  each  of  five  sentences  a  word  bearing  the  same  relationship 
to  another  given  word  as  is  shown  in  the  first  half  of  the  sen- 
tence, e.g.  "  Oyster  is  to  shell  as  banana  is  to  — ." 

Tests  for  Arithmetical  Reasoning  :  —  We  use  the  Terman 
test,  placed  at  the  15-year  level,  and  many  other  problems, 
according  to  age  and  school  experience  of  the  subject. 

Terman  Ball  and  Field  Test  :  —  The  problem  is  to  devise 
the  best  and  most  economical  method  of  finding  a  ball  lost 
in  a  circular  field  of  high  grass. 

Link  Chain  Test  :  —  Five  pieces  of  chain,  each  consisting 
of  three  links,  are  to  be  joined  by  making  not  more  than 
three  cuttings. 

Stenquist  Test  for  Mechanical  Ability  :  —  A  number  of 
models  are  placed  before  the  subject  together  with  the  parts 
with  which  he  can  make  the  different  objects  by  copying 
from  the  models. 

Woodworth- Wells  Directions  Tests  :  —  The  subject  fol- 
lows directions  given  in  printed  form.  Several  sets  are 
used  ;  in  some  the  directions  to  be  followed  are  more  difficult 
than  in  others. 

Tests  for  Visual  Perception  Plus  Attention  :  —  The  well 
known  cancellation  test. 

Questionnaire  Tests  for  Ordinary  Information. 

Tests  for  Common-sense  Adaptations  :  —  These  include 
telling  time,  handling  money,  environmental  orientation,  etc. 

Still  other  tests  are  used  in  special  cases  for  purposes  of 
differential  diagnosis.  For  example  :  —  The  Kent-Rosanoff 
Test;  repetition  of  phrases  requiring  good  auditory  dis- 
crimination ;  drawing  floor  plans  ;  Yerkes  Multiple-Choice 
test  ;  some  of  the  Rossolimo  tests,  particularly  giving  back- 
wards the  months  of  the  year  and  obeying  several  commands; 
Knox  Cube  test,  etc. 


APPENDIX  233 


TEST  RECORDS   OF  CASES   GIVEN  IN  THE  TEXT 

Case  1.    EDITH  N.     12  years,  3  months. 

Binet  grade :  9f  years.  Failures :  8  years  (4) ;  9  years 
(1);  10  years  (3)  and  (4).  Introductory  Test:  3'  57",  of 
which  2'  43"  were  spent  on  the  triangles.  Construction 
Test  I :  Failure.  School  Work :  Writes  from  dictation  "  I 
had  sone  money  and  drop  in  river."  Arithmetic :  Adds 
simple  combinations,  e.g.  7  +  8  =  15 ;  fails  to  add  four 
3-place  numerals. 

Second  Testing  13  months  later : 

Binet  grade :  Through  12  years.  Introductory  Test : 
2'  5",  of  which  l'  15"  were  spent  on  the  triangles.  Construc- 
tion Test  1 :  2'  l",  22  moves.  Construction  Test  II :  l'  15", 
17  moves.  Cross  Line  Test  I:  Correct  third  trial.  Pic- 
torial Completion  Test:  3'  32",  2  illogical  errors.  Easy 
Opposites  Test :  No  errors  or  failures,  average  time  1.5". 
Auditory  Memory  Span :  6  numerals  correct.  School  Work : 
Writes  from  dictation  "  The  cat  ran  away."  "  The  grirl  gos 
to  scholl."  Reading  3rd-grade  passage.  Errors  made  on 
longer  words,  such  as  "  autumn  ",  "  frightened  ",  "  opening." 
Reproduction  is  meager  but  correct.  Still  adds  correctly 
2  numbers  orally,  but  fails  on  2-column  addition.  Cannot 
subtract.  Knows  only  simplest  combinations  of  the  multi- 
plication table. 

Case  2.     ADAM  F.    9  years. 

Binet :  6-  and  7-year  tests  all  correct ;  8-year  tests  correct, 
except  (4) ;  9-year  tests,  1,  3,  and  5  correct ;  fails  (2)  and 
(4).  Cannot  read  or  do  number  work. 

Case  3.     ROLAND  M.     12  years,  9  months. 

Binet  :  Passes  all  the  12-year  tests  correctly.  Fails  visual 
test  of  the  10-year  group.  (Notably  good  results  achieved 
on  many  of  these  tests.)  Introductory  Test  :  2'  30".  Pic- 
torial Completion  Test  :  4'  3",  no  errors.  (Time  reaction 
lengthened  by  visual  defect.)  School  Work  :  Writes  from 


234      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

dictation  "  The  printer  made  some  cards."  Arithmetic  : 
Adds  and  subtracts  ;  knows  simple  number  combinations. 
Reads  5th-grade  passage  somewhat  slowly  owing  to  difficulty 
in  seeing  ;  gives  good  reproduction.  Recites  stanzas  from 
poems  of  Longfellow. 

Case  4.    CAROLINE  J.     14  years,  3  months. 
Construction  Test  II  :  Complete  failure.     Cross  Line  Test 

1  :  Correct  at  first  trial.     Cross  Line  Test  II  :   Utter  failure. 
(Could  do  nothing  more  at  this  time  because  of  the  girl's 
attitude  ;  she  cried  and  made  a  scene.     Diagnosis  had  to  be 
left  in  abeyance.) 

Second  Testing  one  year  later : 

Binet  :  Through  10  years.  (But  not  all  of  the  Binet  tests 
were  given  on  account  of  the  girl's  attitude.)  Construction 
Test  I  :  17",  6  moves  ;  good  performance.  Construction 
Test  II  :  2'  14",  19  moves  ;  also  a  good  result.  Cross  Line 
Test  I  :  Correct  first  trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Correct  at 
third  trial  ;  not  a  good  performance.  Pictorial  Completion 
Test  :  2'  52"  ;  2  errors,  1  logical  and  1  illogical.  Tapping 
Test  :  87  and  90  squares  respectively  on  first  and  second 
trial  ;  1  error  in  each  ;  good  performance.  Memory  for 
Logical  Material  —  visual  verbal  presentation  :  Maintained 
that  she  could  not  remember  at  all  the  passage  which  she 
read  ;  said  it  was  all  gone  from  her  after  she  had  given  the 
first  item.  Memory  for  Logical  Material  —  auditory  verbal 
presentation  :  8  items  given,  but  these  were  poorly  phrased 
although  in  logical  sequence  ;  altogether  a  distinctly  poor 
result.  Auditory  Memory  Span  :  only  5  numerals  correct. 
Opposites  Test  :  (Association  for  20  easy  opposites)  3  failures, 

2  errors  ;    average  time  3".     Kraepelin  Subtraction  Test  : 
Very  poor  result  on  several  trials,  many  errors  made.     Aus- 
sage  :    Very  meager  account  given  in  free  recital,  only  7 
items  ;   on  cross-examination  22  items  given,  but  8  of  these 
were  incorrect.     However,  only  one  out  of  seven  suggestions 
offered  was  accepted.     School  Work  :  Reading  :  Equivalent 
of  5th-grade  passage ;    fluent,  but  without  much  expression  ; 
only  the  harder  words  not  known.    Writing  and  Spelling: 


APPENDIX  235 

Writes  neatly  and  rapidly  ;  fairly  good  hand.  Arithmetic  : 
Long  division  done  with  much  erasing  ;  1  error. 

Third  Testing  eighteen  months  later  : 

Binet  grade  :  Through  all  of  the  10  and  12-year  tests 
except  (3)  of  the  12-year  set.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Correct 
at  first  trial.  Pictorial  Completion  Test  :  l'  50"  ;  3  errors, 
2  illogical.  Tapping  Test  :  95  and  93  squares  respectively 
on  first  and  second  trial  ;  1  and  2  errors  respectively.  Oppo- 
sites  Test  :  (Another  set  of  easy  opposites)  3  errors,  2  fail- 
ures ;  average  time  2.1".  Kraepelin  Subtraction  Tests  : 
Subtracting  3  from  44,  all  correct,  33" ;  subtracting  4  from 
51,  4  errors,  l'  8". 

Case  5.    JASPER  B.     13  years,  7  months. 

Binet  :  The  9  and  10-year  tests  correct  ;  12-year  tests,  1 
and  3  correct,  2,  4,  and  5  failures.  Construction  Test  I  :  6", 
6  moves.  Construction  Test  II  :  l',  15  moves.  Cross  Line 
Test  I  :  correct  second  trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  correct 
first  trial.  Pictorial  Completion  Test  :  2'  18",  5  errors,  3 
illogical.  Continuous  Subtraction  Test  :  4  from  51,  l', 
1  error.  School  Work  :  Writes  "The  boy  go  to  school." 
Arithmetic  :  adds,  subtracts,  and  multiplies  correctly. 
Reads  3rd-grade  passage  fairly  well  ;  gives  meager  but  correct 
reproduction. 

Case  6.    JEROME  B.    16  years. 

First  Testing : 

No  psychological  tests  given  because  school  work  was  done 
exceptionally  well.  Boy  is  in  8th  grade.  Solves  correctly 
examples  in  adding,  subtracting  and  multiplying  fractions. 
Solves  by  ingenious  method  examples  in  interest.  Has  very 
good  school  record  as  regards  ability. 

Second  Testing  two  years,  nine  months  later  at  correctional 
institution. 

Binet  grade  :  10|  years.  8-year  tests  correct  except  (5)  ; 
9-year  tests  all  correct  ;  10-year  tests,  3,  4,  and  5  correct, 
1  and  2  failures.  12-year  tests,  1,  3,  and  5  correct,  2  and  5 
failures;  15-year  tests,  2  correct,  1,  3,  and  5  failures. 


236      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

Construction  Test  I:  52",  20  moves.  Substitution  Test: 
no  errors.  Hard  Directions  Test:  2  errors.  School  Work: 
Arithmetic,  still  solves  examples  in  fractions  and  interest 
correctly. 

Third  Testing  3  months  after  last  testing : 

Binet  :  through  the  12-year  tests  and  three  additional 
tests  correct.  All  10-year  tests  correct  ;  12-year  tests  correct 
except  (1)  ;  all  15-year  tests  except  (3).  (Very  good  results 
in  many  instances  ;  thus,  gave  60  words  in  25" ;  interpreta- 
tion of  pictures  very  good.)  Auditory  Memory  Span  :  8 
numerals  correct.  Easy  Opposites  Test  :  1  error,  average 
time  1.3".  Reads  difficult  advertisement  correctly  and 
fluently  ;  gives  good  reproduction. 

Case  7.    WILLAKD  Z.     15^  years  old. 

Binet  :  All  the  10  and  12-year  tests  correct  ;  well  and 
readily  done.  Construction  Test  I  :  22",  7  moves  ;  very 
good  result.  Construction  Test  II  :  53",  11  moves  ;  ex- 
tremely good  result.  Cross  Line  Test  I  :  Correct  first  trial. 
Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Failure  on  fourth  trial.  Pictorial  Com- 
pletion Test  :  2'  26"  ;  1  logical  error.  Auditory  Memory 
Span  :  Only  4  numerals  correct.  Fails  on  5  numerals  in 
each  of  four  trials.  Visual  Memory  Span  :  7  numerals  cor- 
rect ;  fails  on  8  numerals  in  each  of  three  trials.  School 
Work  :  Writes  from  dictation  "  The  printer  made  some 
cards."  Reading  :  5th-grade  passage,  fluent,  good  expres- 
sion, and  reproduction  correct.  Arithmetic  :  (written  work) : 
Absolute  failure  on  addition  of  four  3-place  numerals.  Sub- 
traction, multiplication  and  division  failures.  (Oral)  :  Fails 
on  problems  such  as  the  following  :  7+8  +  3X2.  Says 
7  +  4  =  14,  or  13,  or  12.  Subtracts  correctly  7  from  50 
but  says  100  —  8  =  90.  Simple  multiplication  combinations, 
such  as  8  X  5  correct  ;  but  many  others  incorrect,  e.g. 
9  X  9  =  63  ;  7  X  7  =  42.  Adds  change  correctly,  but 
even  with  money  in  his  hand  cannot  make  change. 
$1.00  -  87  i  =  27  i ;  $2.00  -  $1.37  =  59  £  Says  at  48 1  a 
dozen  5  oranges  cost  26  £. 

Second  Testing  3  months  later : 


APPENDIX  237 

Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Correct  first  trial.  Easy  Opposites 
Test  :  1  error,  no  failures  ;  average  time  1,7".  Arbitrary 
Association  Test :  no  errors.  Woodworth- Wells  Easy  Direc- 
tions Test :  (first  set)  l'  55",  2  errors  ;  (second  set)  l'  32", 
no  errors.  Hard  Directions  Test :  2'  50",  4  errors.  Auditory 
Memory  Span  :  4  numerals  correct  but  only  once  in  three 
trials.  Memory  for  Logical  Material — visual  verbal  presen- 
tation :  15  of  20  items  in  correct  logical  sequence.  Memory 
for  Logical  Material  —  auditory  verbal  presentation  :  10  of  12 
items  ;  logical  sequence  incorrect  and  little  verbal  accuracy  ; 
ideas,  however,  correct.  School  Work  :  Reading  difficult 
"Want  Ad  ",  reproduction  correct  except  for  numbers;  cannot 
remember  the  number  of  building  and  room  at  which  to  apply. 
Arithmetic  :  Fails  again  on  addition,  subtraction,  multipli- 
cation, and  long  division,  although  he  has  been  attending 
night  school.  Fails  again  to  make  change,  e.g.  SI. 00  —  87  £, 
and  becomes  utterly  confused  ;  cannot  make  the  change 
with  money  before  him.  Fails  to  return  the  change,  e.g. 
50^  —  35^.  Gives  change  correctly  only  when  multiples 
of  5  are  required.  Cannot  tell  the  cost  of  f  of  a  dozen  when 
1  dozen  cost  24  £  ;  fails  on  other  similar  problems. 

Case  8.     ALFRED  T.     16|  years  old. 

Introductory  Test  :  2'  35",  no  repetitions  of  errors.  Con- 
struction Test  I  :  13",  6  moves  ;  remarkably  good  result. 
Construction  Test  II  :  50",  11  moves  (the  smallest  possible 
number),  also  notably  good  result.  Puzzle  Box  :  I/  20"  ; 
very  rapid  perception  of  correct  solution.  Tapping  Test: 
74  and  75  squares,  respectively,  at  first  and  second  trials; 
no  errors.  Instruction  Box  :  Done  correctly  third  trial 
(compare  this  rather  poor  result  with  good  record  on  Puzzle 
Box).  Cross  Line  Test  I  :  Correct  at  third  trial.  Cross 
Line  Test  II :  Correct  first  trial.  Arbitrary  Association  Test : 
4  errors  ;  very  poor  result.  Visual  Memory  —  reproduction 
of  Binet  geometric  figures  :  Result  very  good.  Memory  for 
Logical  Material  —  visual  verbal  presentation  :  17  of  20 
items  given  in  correct  logical  sequence.  Memory  for  Logical 
Material  —  auditory  verbal  presentation  :  8  of  12  items  given 


238      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

in  correct  sequence,  inaccuracies  in  minor  details.  Easy 
Opposites  Test  :  2  failures  ;  2  errors  ;  average  time  3.2." 
School  Work  :  Writes  from  dictation  "  The  printer  naid 
some  cards."  Reading  :  5th-grade  passage,  reads  "  part  " 
for  "party",  "man"  for  "men",  "walk"  for  "work", 
mispronunciation,  probably  due  to  carelessness.  Arithmetic : 
Adding  five  3-place  numerals,  1  error  ;  very  slowly  done. 
Has  no  conception  of  solution  of  simple  problem  in  interest, 
although  has  had  months  of  training  in  business  course. 

Case  9.    MARY  L.     10  years,  9  months. 

Binet  grade  :  9f  years.  Failures  :  9-year  (1)  ;  10-year, 
(2).  Construction  Test  I  :  l'  35",  12  moves.  Pictorial  Com- 
pletion Test  :  3'  34",  1  logical  error.  Auditory  Memory 
Span:  5  numerals  correct.  School  Work  :  Writes  from 
dictation  "  I  am  going  to  school  Tuesday  ",  and  sentences  of 
about  equal  difficulty.  Reading  :  3rd-grade  passage,  she 
fails  on  a  few  of  the  longer  words,  but  reads  fluently  and 
with  good  expression.  Arithmetic  :  adds  simple  number 
combinations  slowly,  e.g.,  6  +  5  +  9  =  20  ;  fails  on  sub- 
traction and  multiplication. 

Second  Testing  8  months  later. 

Binet  grade  :  through  10  years  and  3  of  the  12-year  tests. 
Construction  Test  II :  2'  33",  17  moves.  Cross  Line  Test  I: 
correct  first  trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  correct  4th  trial, 
but  only  very  slowly  and  with  considerable  effort.  Arbitrary 
Association  Test  :  no  errors.  Auditory  Memory  Span  :  5 
numerals  correct.  School  Work  :  Arithmetic  (written) : 
adds  four  3-place  numerals  correctly.  Cannot  subtract,  for 
example,  says  50  —  42  =  10  ;  says  7  —  7=7.  (Oral) 
Some  combinations  of  multiplication  table  correct  and  others 
failures,  e.g.,  4  X  3  =  12  ;  4  X  8  =  32,  but  4  X  6  =  22. 
Fails  to  give  correct  answer  to,  25^  —  8^  =  ?  ;  25 j£  — 
4j£  =  ?  ;  says  10  $£  —  6j£  =  4^.  With  actual  change  can- 
not add  50  $  and  25  ff,  nor  solve  50  £  —  42  £.  Given  a  quarter 
and  asked  to  return  the  change  after  18  £  is  spent,  shows 
much  difficulty  in  mental  representation  of  the  problem. 
Counts  the  18^  in  change  and  then  tries  to  find  what  is 


APPENDIX  239 

needed  to  make  up  the  25  i,  but  since  it  cannot  be  done  with 
the  change  before  her,  fails  to  solve  the  problem. 

Case  10.     JOHN  T.     14  years,  10  months. 

Binet  grade  :  Through  the  12-year  tests,  and  passes  1,  2, 
and  5  of  the  15-year  tests.  Construction  Test  I  :  l'  35", 
16  moves.  Construction  Test  II  :  l'  2fl ',  13  moves.  Cross 
Line  Test  I  :  Correct  on  first  trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II : 
Correct  on  second  trial.  Pictorial  Completion  Test  :  2'  27", 

1  logical  error.     School  Work  :  Writes  from  dictation  "  The 
printer  made  some  cards."     5th-grade  passage  read  fluently 
and  reproduction  good.     Arithmetic  (written  work)  :    fails 
to  add  four  3-place  numerals  ;    cannot  subtract,  multiply, 
or  divide.     (Oral)  :   Gives  correctly  the  combinations  of  the 
multiplication  table.     Says  5  apples  plus  7  apples  equal  12  ; 
8  apples  plus  5  apples  equal  15  ;   says  present  year  is  1915 
and  that  he  is  14  years  old  and  therefore  was  born  in  1902. 

2  dimes  equal  20  cents  ;  2  nickels  equal  10  cents  ;  2  dimes, 
2  nickels  and  2  pennies  equal  95  cents  ;    a  quarter  and  a 
nickel  make  35  cents  ;    50  cents  minus  35  cents  equals? 
(failure)  ;    a  half  dollar  and  a  quarter  makes  $1.25.     (All 
problems  done  with  change  before  him.)     If  a  dozen  cost 
24  cents  5  cost  ?  (failure).     How  many  inches  on  the  4  sides 
of  a  2-inch  square?     After  40  seconds  says  he  does  not  know 
(restates  the  problem  correctly). 

Case  11.     HENRY  M.     10  years,  11  months. 

Introductory  Test  :  l'  ;  perceptions  very  good,  no  trial 
and  error  used  ;  remarkably  well  done.  Construction  Test 
I  :  20",  5  moves  ;  smallest  number  possible.  Construction 
Test  II  :  30",  11  moves  ;  also  smallest  number  possible. 
Puzzle  Box  :  l'  50",  3  errors  ;  planful  procedure.  Instruc- 
tion Box  :  40"  ;  correct  first  trial  ;  rapidly  and  under- 
standingly  done.  Tapping  Test  :  63  and  70  squares  on 
first  and  second  trial  respectively,  1  and  2  errors.  Pictorial 
Completion  Test  :  l'  45",  no  errors.  Cross  Line  Test  I : 
Correct  on  first  trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Correct  on  first 
trial.  Visual  Memory  Test  —  reproduction  of  Binet  figures  ; 


240      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES   AND   DISABILITIES 

Well  done.  Auditory  Memory  Span  :  6  numerals  correct. 
Memory  for  Logical,  Material  —  visual  verbal  presentation  : 
12  of  20  items ;  1  change  in  logical  sequence.  Memory  for 
Logical  Material  —  auditory  verbal  presentation  :  11  of  12 
items  correct  ;  correct  sequence  and  fair  verbal  accuracy. 
Arbitrary  Association  Test  :  no  errors  ;  done  promptly. 
School  Work  :  Writes  from  dictation,  "  The  preuter  made 
some  cards."  Arithmetic  (written)  :  Fails  to  add  four 
4-place  numerals  ;  fails  on  long  division  ;  makes  errors  here 
in  process  of  division  and  in  subtraction.  (Oral)  :  Gives 
the  combinations  of  multiplication  tables  correctly  ;  says 
4X6  +  7-8  =  16;  5x7  +  6-8  =  15;  is  able  to 
restate  problems. 

Case  12.    LILLIAN  M.     14  years,  11  months. 

Introductory  Test  :  38"  ;  very  quick  perception  ;  no  trial 
and  error  used.  Construction  Test  I  :  27",  10  moves. 
Construction  Test  II  :  40",  11  moves.  Tapping  Test  :  76 
and  90  squares,  first  and  second  trial  respectively  ;  no  errors. 
Cross  Line  Test  I  :  Correct  on  first  trial.  Cross  Line  Test 
II  :  Correct  on  first  trial.  Code  Test  :  2  errors.  Pictorial 
Completion  Test  :  3'  8",  2  logical  errors  and  1  illogical  error. 
School  Work  :  Writes  from  dictation,  "  The  printer  made 
some  cards."  Reading  :  5th-grade  passage  read  fluently. 
Arithmetic  (written)  :  Adds  correctly  five  4-place  numerals 
—  slowly  done  ;  multiplication  and  long  division  failure. 
(Oral)  ^Subtracting  continuously  7  from  100,  1'  32",  10 
errors. 

Case  13.     ARTHUR  L.     17  years  old. 

Binet  grade  :  Through  12-year,  no  errors  ;  tests  done 
rapidly  and  well.  Construction  Test  I  :  3'  21",  42  moves. 
Construction  Test  II  :  46",  12  moves.  Cross  Line  Test  II : 
Correct  on  first  trial.  Opposites  Test  :  No  errors  or  fail- 
ures ;  average  time  1.4".  School  Work  :  Writes  from  dic- 
tation, "  The  printer  made  some  cards."  Reading  :  5th 
grade  well  read,  fair  reproduction.  Arithmetic  (written) : 
Fails  on  long  division  ;  numerous  errors  in  multiplication 


APPENDIX  241 

and  occasional  errors  in  subtraction.  (Oral) :  says  $2.00  less 
SI- 57  equals  48  cents  ;  at  36  cents  a  dozen  5  oranges  cost 
63  cents.  Subtracting  continuously  7  from  100,  2'  12", 
9  errors. 

Case  14.     ADOLPH  J.     15  years,  8  months. 

Binet  grade  :  Through  12-year  tests  ;  3  of  the  15-year 
tests  correct  ;  fails  the  first  and  third,  which  are  memory 
tests.  (It  should  be  noted  that  extremely  good  records  were 
made  on  most  of  the  Binet  tests  ;  the  answers  were  very 
quick  and  relevant.)  Construction  Test  I  :  13"  ;  8  moves. 
Construction  Test  II  :  l'  l"  ;  16  moves.  Tapping  Test  :  52 
and  60  squares,  first  and  second  trial  respectively,  no  errors. 
Pictorial  Completion  Test  :  2'  50"  ;  3  logical  errors.  Cross 
Line  Test  I  :  Correct  first  trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Cor- 
rect first  trial.  Arbitrary  Association  Test  :  No  errors. 
Easy  Opposites  Test  :  No  errors  or  failures  ;  average  time 
1.  3".  Visual  Memory  Span — reproduction  of  Binet  figures  : 
Drawn  correctly.  Visual  Memory  Span  —  for  numerals  : 
6  numerals  correct.  Auditory  Memory  Span  for  numerals : 
4  numerals  correct  in  each  of  the  three  trials,  5  numerals 
correct  twice  in  six  trials  ;  6  numerals  a  failure.  Auditory 
Memory  Span  for  Syllables  :  16  syllables  correct,  18  syllables 
failure.  Memory  for  Logical  Material  —  visual  verbal 
presentation  :  13  out  of  20  items,  correct  sequence,  fair 
verbal  accuracy.  Memory  for  Logical  Material  —  auditory 
verbal  presentation  :  11  items  out  of  12,  sequence  correct, 
fan*  verbal  accuracy.  (Says,  "  I  saw  this  like  a  picture 
when  it  was  read  to  me.")  Aussage  Test  :  Very  full  and 
accurate  free  account,  showing  good  powers  of  perception  ; 
good  account  in  response  to  questions  ;  accepts  2  out  of  7 
suggestions  offered.  Analogies  Test  :  4  of  5  problems  cor- 
rect. Terman  Arithmetical  Reasoning  Test  :  All  3  prob- 
lems correct.  Continuous  Subtraction  Test  :  7  from  100, 
l'  1"  ;  no  errors.  (Toward  the  end  made  one  mistake, 
later  said  "  I  made  one  mistake  ;  it  should  have  been  ", 
etc.  and  corrected  it.)  Test  for  Auditory  Perception  :  Fails 
to  repeat  correctly  difficult  sentences.  (See  case-study, 


242      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

p.  95,  for  details.)  School  Work  :  Arithmetic  :  Adds  four 
3-place  numerals  correctly.  Knows  the  combinations  of  the 
multiplication  table  ;  subtracts  correctly  ;  cannot  do  long 
division.  (It  should  be  remembered  that  because  of  special 
defect  in  reading  he  never  went  farther  than  the  4th  grade.) 
See,  also,  Terman  Arithmetical  Reasoning  and  Continuous 
Subtraction  Test.  Writing  :  Writes  a  good,  legible  hand. 
Spelling  :  Writes  from  dictation  "  Dog  run  on  steerts  "  ; 
"  The  gril  go  to  school  "  ;  "  The  print  mad  soom  card." 
(Was  uncertain  whether  "  print  "  was  "  painter  "  or  "  print- 
er.") Reading  :  On  2nd-grade  passage  fails  on  many  words, 
such  as  "  heart  ",  "  leaves  ",  "  often  ",  "  twig  ",  etc.  On 
3rd-grade  passage  shows  much  hesitancy,  fails  on  many 
words.  5th-grade  passage  practically  a  failure.  Makes 
some  effort  to  read  with  expression  ;  reproduction  quite  good. 

Case  15.    JAMES  M.     15  years,  2  months. 

Introductory  Test  :  1'.  Construction  Test  I  :  l'  7",  29 
moves.  Puzzle  Box  :  2'  10"  ;  1  error  ;  good  result,  logical 
procedure.  Tapping  Test  :  88  and  89  squares  first  and  second 
trials  respectively;  1  and  4  errors.  Cross  Line  Test  I :  Cor- 
rect on  first  trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Correct  on  second 
trial.  Code  Test  :  4  errors  ;  3  dots  omitted.  Easy  Oppo- 
sites  Test  :  3  errors  ;  average  time  l.l".  Visual  Memory 
Span  —  reproduction  of  Binet  figures  :  Both  incorrect  first 
trial  ;  correct  second  trial.  (For  details  see  case-study, 
p.  98.)  Memory  for  Logical  Material  —  visual  verbal  pres- 
entation :  16  items  out  of  20,  incorrect  sequence.  (For  de- 
tails see  case-study.)  Memory  for  Logical  Material  —  audi- 
tory presentation  :  10  items  out  of  12  correct  ;  only  1  item 
not  in  logical  sequence.  School  Work  :  Adds,  subtracts, 
multiplies,  and  divides  correctly.  Writes  from  dictation 
"  The  printer  made  some  cards."  Reading  :  5th-grade 
passage  read  very  poorly,  fails  on  many  words,  including 
such  simple  ones  as  "  field  ",  "  shore,  "  "  crib",  etc. 

Case  16.     WALTER  Z.     11  years  old. 
Introductory  Test  :    l'  19".     Construction  Test  I  :   Fail- 
ure ;    very  poor  attempt.     Construction  Test  II  :  44",  11 


APPENDIX  243 

moves  ;  very  good  record.  Puzzle  Box  :  2f  3",  3  errors. 
Instructions  Box  :  Correct  on  second  trial.  Cross  Line  Test 
I  :  Failure  on  third  trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Failure  on 
third  trial.  Visual  Memory  —  reproduction  of  Binet  figures: 
Extremely  well  done.  Arbitrary  Association  Test  :  No 
errors.  School  Work  :  Cannot  read  ;  does  not  know  letters. 
Arithmetic  :  Adds  two  single  digits,  e.g.  4+2=6. 

Second  Testing  1  year  later  : 

Binet  grade  :  Through  9  years.  Failures  :  8  years,  (2) 
and  (4)  ;  9  years,  (2)  and  (4)  ;  10  years,  (3)  and  (5)  ;  12 
years,  (2),  (3),  (4),  (5).  Cross  Line  Test  I  :  Correct  first 
trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Correct  first  trial.  School  Work  : 
Reading  :  Recognized  only  two  words  in  Ist-grade  passage. 
Writes  from  dictation  "  I  see  the  cat  ",  but  no  more  difficult 
sentence. 

Third  Testing  2  years  after  last  testing  : 

Binet  grade  :  All  of  10-year  and  3  of  12-year  tests  correct. 
Failures  :  12-years,  (4)  and  (5).  Construction  Test  I  :  l' 
45",  28  moves.  (Of  these  only  one  move  was  an  impossi- 
bility.) Construction  Test  H  :  23",  11  moves.  Puzzle  Box: 
36",  very  well  done.  Cross  Line  Test  I  :  Correct  first  trial. 
Code  Test  :  Failure  (6  errors).  Pictorial  Completion  Test: 
3'  28",  1  logical  error.  Arbitrary  Association  Test  :  No 
errors.  Auditory  Memory  Span  :  6  numerals  correct. 
Memory  for  Logical  Material  —  auditory  verbal  presenta- 
tion :  9  of  12  items,  good  logical  sequence,  but  poorly  ex- 
pressed. School  Work  :  Reading  :  Fails  on  nearly  all 
words  of  Ist-grade  passage.  Writing  and  Spelling  :  In  writ- 
ing from  dictation  "  The  boy  went  to  school  ",  does  not 
attempt  the  words  "  went  "  and  "  school."  Writes  a  firm, 
legible  hand.  Arithmetic  :  Adds  column  of  five  1-place 
numerals  correctly  ;  does  not  know  process  of  carrying. 

Fourth  Testing  2  years  after  last  testing  : 

Binet  grade  :  All  12-year  tests  correct  ;  all  15-year  tests 
correct  except  (3).  Easy  Opposites  Test  :  3  errors,  average 
time  2.1".  School  Work  :  Reading  :  In  simple  passage 
fails  on  such  words  as  "  fast  ",  "  were  ",  "  cold  ",  etc.  Reads 
Ist-grade  passage  haltingly  ;  fails  on  "  dig  ",  "  elephant." 


244      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

Says  he  cannot  read  the  newspaper,  "  there  are  too  many 
long  words."  Writing  and  Spelling  :  Writes  from  dictation 
"  The  girl  went  to  school  "  ;  "  The  beard  make  som  cars" 
(The  printer  made  some  cards).  He  has  learned  to  write 
correctly  a  number  of  difficult  words,  e.g.,  "  Washington  ", 
"  Mississippi  ",  and  "  Constantinople."  Says  he  has  con- 
sciously learned  to  remember  how  these  words  "  look." 
Arithmetic  :  Adds  correctly.  Adds  money,  makes  change, 
does  orally  simple  problems  involving  money.  Has  never 
been  taught  multiplication  and  division. 

Case  17.     HAROLD  N.     11  years  old. 

Binet  grade  :  Passes  all  of  the  10-year  and  2  of  the  12- 
year  tests.  Fails  12  year,  (3)  and  (4),  (5)  not  given.  (Not- 
ably good  answers  to  common-sense  questions,  quick  detec- 
tion of  absurdities,  good  language  ability.)  Introductory 
Test :  2'  2".  Construction  Test  1 :  2'  57" ;  22  moves.  (One 
hour  later  does  this  in  12",  5  moves.)  Construction  Test  II: 
2'  49"  ;  22  moves.  (Thoughtfully  done  ;  rational  trial  and 
error  method  ;  no  repetition  of  errors.)  Cross  Line  Test  I: 
Correct  on  second  trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Correct  on 
second  trial.  Pictorial  Completion  Test  :  4'  2"  ;  1  logical 
and  1  illogical  error.  Arbitrary  Association  Test  :  No  errors. 
Aussage  :  gives  good  functional  account  ;  on  cross-examina- 
tion, many  details.  Visual  Memory  —  reproduction  of 
Binet  figures  :  Correct.  Auditory  Memory  Span  :  6  nu- 
merals correct.  Memory  for  Logical  Material  —  auditory 
verbal  presentation  :  7  out  of  12  items.  Incorrect  logical 
sequence.  (Used  as  test  for  remote  memory  48  hours  later, 
6  out  of  12  items.)  Memory  for  Logical  Material  —  visual 
verbal  presentation  :  Not  given,  cannot  read  passage. 

Tests  for  remote  memory  5  days  after  first  trial:  Con- 
struction Test  I  :  28",  10  moves.  Fails  to  place  correctly 
numerals  on  figure  Cross  Line  Test  I.  Draws  correctly  1  out 
of  2  Binet  geometrical  figures  ;  cannot  remember  the  other 
figure.  Sings  correctly  melody  and  words  of  song  learned  in 
school.  Remembers  correctly  6  of  the  9  simple  geometric 
forms  of  the  arbitrary  association  test. 


APPENDIX  245 

School  Work  :  Arithmetic  :  Adds  correctly  single  column 
figures  ;  knows  simple  number  combinations  ;  gives  correct 
answer  to  simple  problems,  e.g. :  If  3  cost  15  cents,  how  much 
would  2  cost?  If  9  apples  were  divided  equally  among  3 
children,  how  many  would  each  receive?  Adds  correctly  a 
quarter,  a  dime,  a  nickel,  and  a  penny,  etc.  Spelling  : 
Writes  his  own  name  correctly.  Cannot  write  any  sentence 
from  dictation.  Writes  "  run  ",  "  nam  "  (man),  "  can  ", 
"  onj  "  (and).  Says  his  teacher  has  made  him  write  these 
many  times.  One  week  later  misspells  his  surname  in  wrrit- 
ing  it  ;  orally  spells  it  correctly.  Cannot  identify  all  the 
letters  of  the  alphabet.  Reading  :  Fails  to  read  first  grade 
passage;  knows  only  "  I  can."  Reads  numerals. 

Second  Testing  9  months  later: 

School  Work  :  Has  learned  the  multiplication  tables. 
Still  cannot  write  any  sentence  from  dictation  or  any  from 
his  own  invention.  Has  learned  to  write  four  words,  namely, 
"man",  "can",  "his",  "and."  Reading:  Fails  on  1st- 
grade  passage.  Doesn't  know  the  following  words  :  "  Not  ", 
"  am  ",  "  dig."  Remote  Memory  :  Retells  details  of  picture 
used  in  Aussage  test  fully  and  well. 

Third  Testing  1  month  later : 

Writes  "  ral  "  for  "  rat  ",  "  see  "  for  "  the."  Reading  : 
No  improvement.  General  information  quite  fair  for  oppor- 
tunities. Conversational  ability  normal.  Record  in  manual 
training  room  very  good  ;  is  said  by  teacher  to  copy  well,  to 
follow  directions,  and  to  have  quite  a  little  ability  to  plan 
and  invent. 

Case  18.     RICHARD  T.     15  years. 

Binet  grade  :  All  10-year  and  three  12-year  tests  correct. 
Failure  :  12  years,  (4)  ;  (5)  not  given.  Construction  Test  I: 
12",  6  moves.  Construction  Test  II  :  13",  11  moves.  Cross 
Line  Test  I  :  Correct  first  trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Cor- 
rect first  trial.  Pictorial  Completion  Test  :  3'  37"  ;  2  logical 
and  1  illogical  error.  Visual  Memory  —  reproduction  of 
Binet  figures  :  Correctly  drawn.  Aussage  Test  :  Gives  very 
full  but  quite  inaccurate  recital.  Suggestible.  School  Work : 


246      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

Reading  :  3rd-grade  passage  read  poorly  ;  fails  on  all  but 
simplest  words.  Writing  and  Spelling  :  Writes  from  dicta- 
tion "  The  boy  went  to  school."  Arithmetic  :  Adds  four 
3-place  numerals  correctly.  Subtracts  and  multiplies  cor- 
rectly. 

Case  19.     THOMAS  S.     15  years. 

Introductory  Test  :  3'  5"  ;  much  of  time  spent  on  triangles. 
Construction  Test  I  :  3',  26  moves.  Cross  Line  Test  I  : 
Correct  first  trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Correct  third  trial. 
School  Work  :  Writes  from  dictation  "  The  pre  made  soom 
c."  (The  printer  made  some  cards).  Arithmetic  :  Adds 
3-place  numerals  and  multiplies  promptly. 

Second  Testing  one  day  later  : 

Construction  Test  II  :  40",  11  moves.  Puzzle  Box  :  l' 
45",  1  error.  Tapping  Test  :  70  and  77  squares  respectively 
at  first  and  second  trial  ;  no  errors.  Arbitrary  Association 
Test  :  No  errors.  Memory  for  Logical  Material  —  auditory 
verbal  presentation  :  11  of  12  items  given  ;  incorrect  logical 
sequence.  Peculiarly  disconnected,  short  phrases  ;  English 
very  poor.  Easy  Opposites  :  3  failures  ;  average  time  2.7". 
School  Work  :  Reads  some  few  monosyllables  only. 

Third  Testing  three  months  later  : 

Reading  :  Somewhat  better  ;  knows  a  few  more  words, 
but  fails  on  three  words  (elephant,  dig,  ground)  in  four  lines 
of  a  Ist-grade  passage.  Writing  and  spelling  :  Writes  from 
dictation  "  See  the  dog  on  the  Street ",  "  The  cat  rouns  fast." 

Case  20.     RUPERT  N.     16  years. 

Construction  Test  I  :  20",  5  moves.  Construction  Test 
H  :  1'  4",  12  moves.  Cross  Line  Test  I  :  Correct  first  trial. 
Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Correct  first  trial.  Pictorial  Completion 
Test  :  2',  1  logical  error.  School  Work :  Reading :  Reads 
3rd-grade  passage  fairly  well ;  all  words  read  correctly ;  not 
much  expression  ;  reproduction  fairly  good.  Writing  and 
Spelling  :  Writes  from  dictation  "  The  pter  made  son  cards  " 
(The  printer  made  some  cards),  "  I  neear  waet  ene  plaes 
atsed  in  Chicago  "  (I  never  went  anyplace  outside  of  Chicago). 


APPENDIX  247 

Arithmetic  :  Adds  correctly  ;  in  long  division  makes  one 
careless  error  ;  multiplies  simple  numbers  ;  fails  on  tables 
of  7's  and  8's. 

Second  Testing  five  days  later  : 

Binet  grade  :  Through  10  years.  Failures  :  10  years, 
(5)  ;  12  years,  (1),  (2),  (4),  (5).  Puzzle  Box  :  \'  9",  2  errors. 
Tapping  Test  :  74  and  73  squares  respectively,  first  and 
second  trial,  0  and  2  errors  respectively.  Cross  Line  Test  II : 
Correct  first  trial.  (Lettering  changed  from  arrangement 
used  previously.)  Visual  Memory  —  reproduction  of  Binet 
figures  :  Correct.  Easy  Opposites  :  6  errors,  2  failures  ; 
average  time  2.8";  range  1.4"-7.8". 

Third  Testing  one  week  after  second  testing  : 
Code  Test  :    3  errors  on  first  trial  (was  not  trying)  ;    1 
error  on  second  trial. 

Fourth  Testing  four  months  after  third  testing  : 
Binet  :  All  the  10-year  tests  correct.  Failures  :  12  years, 
(4)  and  (5)  ;  15  years,  (1),  (2),  (4).  Easy  Opposites  (new 
list  of  words)  :  1  error  ;  average  time  1.9"  ;  range  l"-5." 
Kraepelin  Subtraction  Test  :  Subtracting  7  from  100  ;  3' 
42",  1  error.  Subtracting  4  from  51,  2',  1  error.  School 
Work  :  Writes  from  dictation  "  The  priter  mead  sen  cerds  " 
(The  printer  made  some  cards).  Arithmetic  :  Adds  and 
subtracts  correctly. 

Case  21.     HENRY  J.     16  years. 

Binet  :  All  10-year  tests  correct.  12-year  tests,  failed 
only  on  (4).  Construction  Test  II  :  36",  11  moves.  Cross 
Line  Test  I  :  Correct  on  first  trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II  : 
Correct  on  second  trial.  Code  Test  :  4  errors.  Easy  Oppo- 
sites :  1  error,  average  time  1.6."  Arbitrary  Association 
Test  :  No  errors.  Memory  for  Logical  Material  —  visual 
verbal  presentation  :  15  of  20  items  given  in  logical  sequence. 
Memory  for  Logical  Material  —  auditory  verbal  presenta- 
tion :  11  of  12  items  given,  slight  changes  in  logical  sequence. 
(Retells  correctly  stories  told  in  Binet  absurdities  test.) 
Auditory ;  Memory  Span  :  4  numerals  only.  Fails  on  5 
numerals  in  each  of  six  trials.  Visual  Memory  Span :  5 


248      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

numerals  correct.  Cannot  remember  two  telephone  num- 
bers of  4  numerals  each.  Memory  Span  for  Syllables  :  14 
syllables  correct.  One  slight  error  on  both  16  and  18  syllables. 
School  Work  :  Reads  3rd-grade  passage  fairly  well  ;  gives 
good  reproduction.  \Yrites  from  dictation  "  The  boy  goes 
to  school ",  "  The  printer  made  some  cards."  Adds,  sub- 
tracts, multiplies,  and  divides  correctly. 

Case  22.     BENJAMIN  L.    20  years  old. 

Binet  :  Through  12  and  15-year  tests  correctly.  All  adult 
tests  correct  except  (5).  Tests  involving  mental  representa- 
tion, i.e.  adult  (1)  and  (2),  correct  only  slowly  and  with  diffi- 
culty. Construction  Test  I  :  11",  5  moves.  Construction 
Test  H  :  33",  11  moves.  Cross  Line  Test  I  :  Correct  first 
trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Correct  first  trial.  Code  Test  : 
2  errors.  Pictorial  Completion  Test  :  2'  50",  2  illogical 
errors.  (It  should  be  added  that  this  test  presents  certain 
definite  features  for  adults.  For  discussion  see  Psych.  Rev., 
May,  1914.)  Opposites  Test  :  No  errors  or  failures,  average 
time  l".  Association  Test,  object  —  attribute  :  No  errors 
or  failures  ;  average  tune  1.5".  Memory  for  Logical  Ma- 
terial —  visual  verbal  presentation  :  19  of  20  items  given, 
correct  logical  sequence,  only  slight  verbal  changes.  (Com- 
pare with  failure  on  adult  (5)  Binet.)  Memory  for  Logical 
Material  —  auditory  verbal  presentation  :  1 1  of  12  items 
given,  correct  logical  sequence,  only  slight  verbal  changes. 
Visual  Memory  Span  :  9  numerals  correct.  Reproduction 
of  Binet  figures  :  correct.  Auditory  Memory  Span  :  12 
numerals  correct  ;  13  numerals,  one  numeral  transposed. 
Memory  Span  for  Syllables  :  32  syllables  correct.  (Not 
tried  further.)  Hard  Directions  Test  :  3'  5",  no  errors. 
Analogies  Test  :  Four  correct  ;  1  error.  Terman  Arith- 
metical Reasoning  Test  :  1  correct  ;  2  failures.  Terman 
Ball  and  Field  Test  :  Correct.  Terman  Link  Chain  Test : 
Correct. 

Case  23.     PETER  R.     11  years  old. 

Introductory  Test  :  56".  Construction  Test  -I  :  46",  16 
moves.  Construction  Test  II :  l'  l",  21  moves.  Pictorial 


APPENDIX  249 

Completion  Test  :  4'  27",  1  logical  and  1  illogical  error. 
Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Correct  first  trial.  Arbitrary  Associa- 
tion Test  :  3  errors.  Memory  for  Logical  Material  —  audi- 
tory verbal  presentation  :  10  of  12  items  given,  logical  se- 
quence and  verbal  accuracy  good.  School  Work  :  Reading  : 
only  a  few  words  of  Ist-grade  passage  read.  Writing  and 
Spelling  :  Writes  own  name  poorly  and  three  words,  "  The 
cat  run."  Arithmetic:  Adds  single  column  of  four  numerals 
by  counting  on  fingers  ;  cannot  subtract  ;  gives  the  tables 
of  2's  and  3's  by  adding  on  fingers  and  by  making  marks. 
Asked  how  much  is  $1.00  less  60  cents,  makes  one  hundred 
marks,  counts  off  sixty  and  then  counts  the  remainder. 

Second  Testing  following  day  : 

Binet  grade  :  9f  years.  Failures  :  8-year,  (4)  ;  9-year, 
(4)  ;  10-year,  (3)  and  (4)  ;  12-year,  (3),  (4)  and  (5).  Memory 
Span  for  Numerals  :  6  correct.  Construction  Test  I  :  13" ; 
5  moves.  Cross  Line  Test  I  :  Correct  on  first  trial, 
(promptly).  Arbitrary  Association  Test  :  No  errors. 

Third  Testing  10  months  later : 

Binet  grade  :  9f .  Failures  :  the  same  as  previously, 
except  10-year  (3)  now  correct,  12-year  (2)  now  failure. 
Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Correct  on  first  trial.  Pictorial  Com- 
pletion Test  :  2'  53",  1  logical  error.  Arbitrary  Association 
Test  :  Correct.  (All  these  tests  given  to  find  whether  any 
deterioration  or  improvement.)  Easy  Opposites  Test  :  2 
errors,  average  time  1.8".  School  Work  :  Reading  :  No 
improvement,  reads  only  very  few  of  even  simple  words. 
Writing  and  Spelling  :  Has  added  no  new  words  to  writing 
vocabulary.  Arithmetic  :  Still  adds  a  column  of  single 
figures  by  counting  ;  no  new  process  learned.  General  In- 
formation :  Exceedingly  poor  ;  knows  the  president  in  office, 
but  not  who  preceded  him  nor  who  was  first  president ; 
cannot  tell  time  ;  cannot  tell  year  in  which  born,  although 
knows  present  year  and  own  age  ;  cannot  name  the  month, 
nor  the  day  of  the  week  ;  knows  nothing  about  the  city, 
except  how  to  reach  the  laboratory  from  his  home  ;  geo- 
graphical and  historical  items  all  failures. 

Fourth  Testing  3  months  later : 


250      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

Binet  grade  :  same  as  previously.  Terman  Scale  :  Passes 
9-year  tests  and  10-year  (4).  Visual  Memory  —  reproduc- 
tion of  Binet  and  other  figures  :  correct.  Cross  Line  Test  II 
(renumbered)  :  Correct  on  first  trial.  Instructions  Box  : 
Failure  on  third  trial  due  to  inability  to  find  the  numbers  on 
the  dial  ;  other  steps  of  process  correct.  Auditory  Memory 
for  Syllables  :  20  correct.  School  Work  :  No  improvement 
in  reading  or  spelling.  Arithmetic  :  Has  improved  in  addi- 
tion ;  has  learned  the  process  of  carrying,  but  fails  in  sub- 
traction ;  has  learned  the  simpler  combinations  of  multipli- 
cation table,  but  fails  on  difficult  ones.  Makes  simple 
change,  e.g.,  50  fi  less  27  £,  correct,  but  fails  on  $1.00  less  66  £. 

Fifth  Testing  1  month  later : 

Re-testing  on  failures  in  the  Binet  series,  still  fails  8-year 
(4),  but  now  gives  9-year  (4)  correctly  ;  gives  correctly  12- 
year  (2)  ;  still  fails  12-year  (3)  and  (4),  but  makes  better 
record  than  ever  before  on  (3).  Memory  Span  for  Numerals  : 
6  numerals  correct,  one  trial  in  three  ;  7  numerals  complete 
failure.  Memory  for  Syllables  :  24  correct,  fails  on  26. 
Knox  Cube  Test  :  Parts  (a)  (b)  (c)  correct  on  first  trial  ; 
part  (d)  correct  on  second  trial  ;  part  (e)  correct  on  third  trial. 
Special  Tests  for  Remote  Memory  (besides  the  various 
tests  given  above)  :  Fails  completely  to  remember  the  simple 
geometric  figures  of  the  substitution  test,  which  he  has  had 
three  separate  times.  Fails  to  remember  any  of  the  passages 
used  for  testing  immediate  auditory  verbal  memory,  —  does 
not  even  remember  that  he  had  such  a  test  a  year  previously. 
Fails  to  tell  time,  birthday,  the  current  month,  etc.,  in  spite 
of  recent  intensive  training.  Remembers  vaguely  parts  of 
Construction  Test  II,  but  relationships  extremely  poor.  For 
other  items  see  the  text.  Aussage  :  Gives  good  free  account 
enumerating  all  the  prominent  objects  and  some  of  the  less 
prominent  ones  ;  on  cross-examination  gives  many  more 
details.  Somewhat  inaccurate,  adds  fictional  items,  not  sug- 
gestible. Recognition  Memory  :  Shown  5  pictures,  selects 
them  promptly  from  among  ten  later  presented.  General 
Information  :  Still  fails  to  tell  time  ;  fails  to  give  the  date  ; 
cannot  tell  his  birthday.  School  Work  :  Fails  on  simple 


APPENDIX  251 

problem  in  multiplication  ;  does  simple  example  in  subtrac- 
tion in  which  he  has  had  drill  just  two  days  previously ; 
solves  correctly  problem,  "  If  you  make  $4.00  a  week  and 
spend  $2.00  a  week,  how  long  would  it  take  you  to  save 
$6.00?  " 

Case  24.     HARRY  R.     14  years,  9  months. 

Binet  grade  :  Through  12  years.  Failures  :  9-year,  (4)  ; 
10-year,  (2)  ;  passes  15-year  (1),  (4),  and  (5).  Construc- 
tion Test  I  :  Failure  in  5'.  Construction  Test  II  :  Failure 
in  5'.  Cross  Line  Test  I  :  Failure  on  4th  trial.  Cross  Line 
Test  II  :  Failure  on  4th  trial.  Pictorial  Completion  Test : 
3'  20",  1  logical  error.  Easy  Opposites  Test  :  No  errors  or 
failure  ;  average  time  2.2."  Arbitrary  Association  Test  :  3 
errors.  Auditory  Memory  Span  :  8  numerals  correct. 
Visual  Memory  Span  —  reproduction  of  Binet  figures  : 
Failure.  Reproduction  of  two  other  figures  similar  in  char- 
acter, failure  ;  cannot  draw  facade  of  own  house  ;  cannot  draw 
floor  plan  of  own  home.  Memory  for  Syllables  :  Repro- 
duced 24  syllables  correctly.  Memory  for  Logical  Material 

—  visual  verbal  presentation  :    12  of  20  items,  correct  se- 
quence, fair  verbal  accuracy.     Memory  for  Logical  Material 

—  auditory  verbal  presentation  :  10  of  12  items,  good  verbal 
accuracy.     School    Work  :     Arithmetic  :      (Oral.)     Knows 
combinations  in  addition  and  multiplication  ;  makes  1  error 
in  adding  four  3-place  numerals.     Subtraction  correct  ;  long 
division,   process  correct,   but  several  inaccuracies.     Prob- 
lems ;  at  36^  a  dozen  4  cost  12  £,  etc.,  promptly.     Writing  : 
Writes  a  fair,  legible  hand  ;    writes  from  dictation  "  The 
prenter  mad  some  cors."     Reading  :  3rd  grade  passage  read 
slowly  ;  numerous  inaccuracies  ;  fails  on  fairly  simple  words, 
e.g.,  "  frightened  "  ;    called  saw  "snow",  etc.     ReproducT 
tion  good.     Catch  phrases  correctly  repeated. 

Case  25.     EDGAR  M.     11  years. 

Binet  :  All  tests  through  15-year  age-level  correct  except 
12-year  (4).  12-year  (3),  correct  only  on  second  trial.  Con- 
struction Test  I  :  1'  25",  14  moves.  Construction  Test  II : 
1'  3",  13  moves.  Puzzle  Box  :  4'  l",  2  errors.  (!'  55" 


252      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

spent  in  studying  situation.)  5'  20"  to  put  box  together 
again.  Tapping  Test  :  48  and  56  squares,  respectively,  first 
and  second  trial,  no  errors.  Cross  Line  Test  I  :  Correct  on 
first  trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Correct  on  first  trial.  Pic- 
torial Completion  Test  :  5'  4",  no  errors.  (Much  time  re- 
quired to  find  the  correct  pieces.  Perceptions  slow  ;  apper- 
ceptions rapid.)  Arbitrary  Association  Test  :  No  errors  ; 
l'  57"  required  to  place  numerals  in  learning  part.  Visual 
Memory  Span  :  6  numerals  correct  with  one  exposure  ;  7 
numerals  correct  with  two  exposures  ;  8  numerals  correct 
with  three  exposures.  (Translates  probably  into  auditory 
terms.)  Auditory  Memory  Span  :  8  numerals  correct,  one 
reading.  Memory  for  Logical  Material  —  visual  verbal 
presentation  :  13  of  20  items  given  ;  correct  logical  sequence. 
Memory  for  Logical  Material  —  auditory  verbal  presenta- 
tion :  11  of  12  items  given  ;  correct  logical  sequence.  Easy 
Opposites  Test  :  No  errors  or  failures  ;  average  time  1.4". 
Easy  Directions  Test  :  4'  32",  1  error.  Hard  Directions 
Test  :  Time  ?  no  errors.  Analogies  Test  :  All  correct. 
Aussage  :  Free  recital,  5  items.  Cross-examination,  14 
items  correct  ;  7  errors  ;  replies  "  Don't  know  "  9  times, 
and  "  Not  sure  "  2  times.  Denies  seeing  two  prominent 
objects  ;  no  suggestions  accepted.  School  Work  :  Reading  : 
5th-grade  passage  fluent,  but  tires  of  it.  Spelling  and  Writ- 
ing :  Spelling  comparatively  poor.  Writes  very  slowly  and 
poorly  ;  requires  much  effort.  (Spelling  taught  him  by 
writing  ;  oral  recitations  only  once  a  week.)  Arithmetic : 
Adds,  subtracts,  multiplies  correctly.  Fails  on  long  division. 
Makes  change  slowly.  Fails  on  simple  problems,  e.g.,  At 
48  cents  a  dozen,  how  much  would  5  cost?  Enjoys  French 
lessons  ;  does  well  ;  this  subject  taught  entirely  by  auditory 
method.  Fond  of  music,  good  sense  of  rhythm. 

Case  26.    MELVIN  W.     15  years. 

Binet  grade  :  Through  12-year  tests  ;  no  failures.  Con- 
struction Test  I  :  Failure  in  5'.  Construction  Test  II  :  4' 
6",  40  moves  ;  trial  and  error  method  ;  many  repetitions  of 
errors.  Puzzle  Box  :  Failure  in  10'  ;  correct,  after  many 


APPENDIX  253 

errors,  in  ll'  l".  Cross  Line  Test  I  :  Correct  on  first  trial. 
Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Correct  on  first  trial.  Pictorial  Com- 
pletion Test  :  3'  5"  ;  1  logical  and  1  illogical  error.  Audi- 
tory Memory  Span  :  6  numerals  correct.  Visual  Memory  — 
reproduction  of  Binet  figures  :  Correctly  done.  School 
Work  :  Reading,  3rd-grade  passage  read  poorly  ;  fails  on 
longer  words.  Writing  and  Spelling  :  Writes  from  dictation 
"  The  preuter  maid  som  cards  "  (The  printer  made  some 
cards).  Arithmetic  :  One  error  in  adding  four  3-place 
numerals.  Short  division  correct.  Errors  in  subtraction. 
Fails  on  long  division.  Knows  multiplication  tables. 

Second  Testing  three  months  later  : 

Introductory  Test  :  l'  10".  Construction  Test  I  :  14", 
6  moves.  (Probably  due  to  accident.)  Construction  Test 

11  :   Failure  in  5'.     Puzzle  Box  :    l'  9"  ;   2  errors  ;   cannot 
put  the  box  together.     Stenquist  Tests  :   All  models  copied 
in  27'.     Terman  Ball  and  Field  Test  :    Very  poor  failure. 
Yerkes  Multiple  Choice  Test  :    Problem  I,  correct  on  18th 
trial.     Problem  II,  correct  on  15th  trial.     Problem  III,  correct 
on  10th  trial.     Problem  IV,  correct  on  5th  trial.     Tapping 
Test  :  59  and  56  squares  respectively,  first  and  second  trial ; 
8  errors  on  first  trial,  0  errors  on  second.     (Made  very  great 
effort.)     Arbitrary  Association  Test  :    No  errors.     Memory 
for  Logical  Material  —  auditory  verbal  presentation  :   10  of 

12  items  given  ;    correct  logical  sequence  ;    English  poor. 
Easy  Opposites  Test  :   1  error  ;   average  time  1.6".     Wood- 
worth-Wells  Easy  Directions  Test  :   l'  58",  3  errors.    Ter- 
man Arithmetical  Reasoning  Test  :   Correct  (2  out  of  3). 
School  Work  :    Reading,  some  improvement  on  3rd-grade 
passage  ;    fewer  words  mispronounced,  but  read  haltingly. 
Writing  and  Spelling  :   Writes  from  dictation  "  The  printer 
made  some  cards."     Arithmetic  :  •  Adds  and  subtracts  cor- 
rectly   examples    previously    failed.     Multiplies    correctly. 
Has  not  yet  learned  long  division. 

Case  27.    ALEXANDER  T.     13  years,  9  months. 
Binet  grade  :    Correct  through  12  years,  except  12,  (4). 
Construction  Test  I  :   4'  30",  56  moves  (of  these  14  were 


254      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

impossibilities).  Construction  Test  II  :  Failure  in  5'.  Sten- 
quist  Test  :  Failure  in  30'  ;  errors  on  the  lock,  and  the  star 
was  a  failure.  Tapping  Test  :  76  and  69  squares  1st  and  2nd 
trials  respectively,  and  0  and  1  error  respectively.  Instruc- 
tions Box  :  Correct  on  second  trial.  Cross  Line  Test  I : 
Correct  1st  trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Correct  1st  trial. 
Pictorial  Completion  Test  :  2'  15",  2  logical  errors.  School 
Work  :  Arithmetic  :  Does  long  division  correctly.  Writing  : 
Writes  rapid  legible  hand.  Spelling  :  Writes  "  The  printer 
made  some  cards."  Reading  :  5th-grade  passage  read 
fluently. 

Case  28.    ARTHUR  R.     17  years. 

(Testing  done  on  two  days,  one  immediately  following  the 
other,  reported  together.) 

Binet  :  12-year  tests  all  correct,  but  (2)  very  slowly 
answered  ;  (3),  60  words  in  2'  30".  15-year  tests  :  fails  on 
(1)  and  (3)  ;  (5)  answered  very  slowly.  Adult  tests  :  (2) 
solved  when  allowed  to  ponder  overnight  ;  (3)  slowly  and 
poorly  done  ;  (4)  slowly  and  poorly  done. 

Construction  Test  I  :  l'  18",  12  moves.  Construction 
Test  H  :  2'  2",  26  moves.  Puzzle  Box  :  6'  12".  (5'  study 
before  first  move  made  ;  then  only  1  error,  though  1'  12" 
required  to  complete.)  Tapping  Test  :  98  and  101  squares 
respectively,  first  and  second  trials,  0  and  5  errors  respec- 
tively. Pictorial  Completion  Test  :  3'  35".  No  errors. 
(Very  slow  reactions  for  age.)  Arbitrary  Association  Test : 
2  errors  on  first  trial  ;  no  errors  on  second  trial.  Visual 
Memory  —  reproduction  of  Binet  figures  :  Correct.  Audi- 
tory Memory  Span  :  6  numerals  correct.  Memory  for  Logi- 
cal Material  —  visual  verbal  presentation  :  16  of  20  items 
given  ;  correct  sequence.  Memory  for  Logical  Material  — 
auditory  verbal  presentation  :  10  of  12  items  given,  2  items 
transposed.  Easy  Opposites  Test  :  No  errors  or  failures, 
average  time  1.6".  Kraepelin  Subtraction  Test  :  Subtract- 
ing 7  from  100  ;  1'  13",  no  errors.  Terman  Link  Chain 
Test  :  Failure  first  day  ;  solved  correctly  overnight.  Ter- 
man Ball  and  Field  Test  :  Poor  attempt.  Sharp's  Ethical 


APPENDIX  255 

Questions  answered  very  slowly,  but  fully  comprehended. 
School  Work  :  Reading  :  excellent.  Writing  and  Spelling  : 
Writes  from  dictation  "  The  printer  made  some  cards." 
Arithmetic  :  Adds  nine  3-place  numerals  correctly,  but 
slowly ;  long  division,  1  error. 

Case  29.     AGNES  Z.    8  years. 

Binet  grade  :  Through  7  years.  Failures  :  5  years,  (1)  ; 
6  years,  (3)  ;  7  years,  (4)  ;  8  years,  (1),  (2),  (4)  ;  9  years, 
all  except  (2).  Drawing  of  square  showed  poor  coordina- 
tions ;  attempts  at  drawing  rhomboid  very  poor.  Intro- 
ductory Test  :  Failure  ;  correct  in  2'  except  for  triangles. 
Shown  how  to  place  pieces  of  triangle,  fails  after  four  trials. 
Construction  Test  I  :  15",  7  moves.  Result  evidently  acci- 
dental. Immediate  retrial  failure.  Arbitrary  Association 
Test  :  Makes  many  errors  in  placing  figures  with  model 
before  her.  Pictorial  Completion  Test  :  (Not  given  with 
standard  procedure.)  Gives  meaning  of  situations  very  well 
for  age.  Auditory  Memory  Span  :  5  numerals  correct. 
Memory  Span  for  Syllables  :  16  syllables  correct.  Recites 
Stevenson's  "  The  Shadow  "  correctly  ;  cannot  give  mean- 
ing. School  Work  :  Reading,  1st  and  2nd  grade  passages 
read  well.  Writing  and  Spelling  :  Writing  almost  illegible  ; 
spells  simple  words  orally  without  errors.  Arithmetic  :  Adds 
combinations  of  two  numbers  up  to  12,  e.g.,  7+3,  6+6, 
etc. 

Case  30.    LEONARD  B.     17  years,  11  months. 

Introductory  Test  :  l'  54",  of  which  54"  was  spent  on 
triangles.  Construction  Test  I  :  33",  7  moves.  Construc- 
tion Test  II  :  55",  14  moves.  Cross  Line  Test  I  :  Correct 
on  second  trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Failure  after  four 
trials  ;  cannot  draw  from  memory  figure  used. 

Second  Testing  two  days  later : 

Binet  :  All  12-year  tests  correct  except  (5)  ;  15  years, 
failure  (2)  and  (3)  ;  adult  tests,  all  failures.  Puzzle  Box  : 
4?  4",  3  errors.  Tapping  Test  :  87  and  90  squares  respec- 
tively on  first  and  second  trial,  0  and  1  error,  respectively. 


256      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND  DISABILITIES 

Pictorial  Completion  Test  :  5'  54"  ;  1  logical  and  1  illogical 
error.  Easy  Opposites  Test  :  1  failure  ;  average  time  1.8". 
Kraepelin  Subtraction  Test  :  Subtracting  7  from  100,  2',  6 
errors.  Arbitrary  Association  Test  :  2  errors.  (Both  figures 
left  unnumbered  ;  1  and  9  evidently  confused.)  Cross  Line 
Test  I  :  Failure  after  two  trials.  Visual  Memory  —  repro- 
duction of  Binet  figures  :  Failure  after  eight  trials  each  after 
new  exposure.  (Copies  figures  correctly  ;  cannot  even  after 
this  draw  them  from  memory.)  Memory  for  Logical  Ma- 
terial —  visual  verbal  presentation  :  14  of  20  items  given  ; 
correct  sequence.  Memory  for  Logical  Material  —  auditory 
verbal  presentation  :  8  of  12  items  given  ;  correct  sequence. 
Instructions  Box  :  Correct  only  on  fifth  trial.  Terman  Ball 
and  Field  Test  :  Very  well  done.  Cancellation  Test  :  Well 
done  ;  rapid,  accurate  reactions.  Aussage  :  Free  recital, 
11  items  ;  cross  examination,  12  items  correct  ;  5  errors  ; 
answers  "  Don't  know  "  on  4  items.  School  Work  :  6th- 
grade  passage  read  fluently.  Writing  and  Spelling  :  Writes 
from  dictation  "  The  printer  made  some  cards  ",  but  "  The 
revoluntary  war  was  carried  on  largely  under  the  auspieces 
of  the  Continaltal  Congress."  Arithmetic  :  Adds  five 
4-place  numerals  correctly  :  fails  on  long  division  ;  fails  to 
add  fractions.  Oral  problems  :  fails  on  such  examples  as 
8  +  7  +;5  —  2  X  2,  and  other  similar  ones.  Asked  if  1 
dozen  apples  cost  54  cents,  how  much  will  8  apples  cost, 
gives  stepj  required,  but  cannot  solve. 

Third  Testing  one  week  later  : 

Puzzle  Box  :  2',  3  errors.  Rapidly  put  box  together  again. 
Cannot  draw  recognizable  representation  of  simple  ink- 
bottle. 

Case  31.    JULIAN  M.    14  years. 

Binet  :  (1908  series  used).  All  10,  11,  and  12-year  tests 
correct.  Introductory  Test  :  \'  20".  Construction  Test  I : 
Failure  ;  60  moves.  Construction  Test  II  :  l'  10"  (result 
possibly  accidental).  Puzzle  Box  :  7',  many  errors,  first 
correct  move  made  at  6'.  Instructions  Box  :  Correct  on 
third  trial.  Tapping  Test  :  82  and  83  squares,  respectively, 


APPENDIX  257 

on  first  and  second  trial  ;  20  and  5  errors  respectively.  Cross 
Line  Test  I  :  Correct  on  first  trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II : 
Correct  on  first  trial.  Code  Test  :  Failure.  3  symbols 
wrong  and  6  dots  omitted.  Pictorial  Completion  Test : 
Time?  3  logical  and  4  illogical  errors.  Apperceptions  very 
defective.  Arbitrary  Association  Test  :  No  errors. 
Checkers,  fails  to  take  advantage  of  obvious  chances. 
School  Work  :  Reading :  6th-grade  passage  read  fluently, 
with  good  expression.  Writing  and  Spelling  :  Writes  from 
dictation  "  The  printer  made  some  cards."  Arithmetic : 
Adds  seven  4-place  numbers  correctly,  but  slowly.  Fails  on 
long  division  ;  makes  errors  in  subtraction  ;  says  18  —  6  =  3. 
Asked  if  2|  pounds  cost  45  cents,  how  much  will  3|  cost? 
answers  §6.08.  Poorly  informed  in  regard  to  historical,  geo- 
graphical, and  local  facts. 

Case  32.     ALICE  J.     13  years,  6  months. 

Introductory  Test  :  31".  Construction  Test  I  :  36",  17 
moves.  Construction  Test  II  :  6'  43",  58  moves.  (Scored 
as  failure.)  Cross  Line  Test  I  :  Correct  on  first  trial.  Cross 
Line  Test  II  :  Correct  on  first  trial.  Pictorial  Completion 
Test  :  2'  18"  ;  2  logical  errors.  Arbitrary  Association  Test : 
No  errors.  Tapping  Test  :  44  squares  in  each  of  two  trials ; 
1  and  0  errors  respectively.  School  Work  :  Reading  :  5th- 
grade  passage  read  well  ;  occasionally  slight  hesitation. 
Writing  and  Spelling  :  Writes  from  dictation  "  The  printer 
made  some  cards."  Arithmetic  :  Adds,  subtracts,  multiplies, 
divides  correctly  ;  adds  fractions. 

Second  Testing  three  weeks  later : 

Construction  Test  H  :  33",  13  moves.  Tapping  Test  : 
63  and  70  squares  respectively  ;  8  and  7  errors  respectively. 
(Was  urged  to  do  better  than  previously.  Made  great  effort.) 

Case  33.    MORGAN  G.    14  years. 

Binet  grade  :  Through  12-year  tests  without  any  failures. 
Introductory  Test  :  l'  7"  ;  22"  spent  on  triangles.  Con- 
struction Test  I  :  Failure  in  5'.  (1  hour  later  l'  54",  15 
moves.)  Construction  Test  II  :  56",  14  moves.  Cross  Line 


258      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

Test  I  :  Correct  on  first  trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Correct 
on  first  trial.  Pictorial  Completion  Test  :  2'  54",  no  errors. 
Easy  Opposites  Test  :  2  errors  ;  average  time  2.3  "  ;  range 
1.2"  to  7.8".  Kraepelin  Subtraction  Test  :  Subtracting  7 
from  100,  all  wrong  ;  4  from  41,  l'  10",  4  errors.  (Toward 
the  end  counts  by  ones.)  3  from  51,  57",  5  errors.  (Failed 
again  on  this  test  one  month  later.  Then  subtracting  7  from 
101,  all  failure  ;  continuous  addition  by  7,  beginning  with  2, 
2'  20",  3  errors.)  Tapping  Test  :  60  and  57  squares  respec- 
tively on  first  and  second  trial  ;  3  and  5  errors  respectively. 
School  Work  :  Reading  :  3rd-grade  passage  fairly  well  read ; 
knows  all  words  ;  somewhat  jerky  in  manner  ;  reproduction 
correct.  Writing  and  Spelling  :  Writes  from  dictation  "  The 
boy  goes  to  school."  Arithmetic  :  Long  division  correct. 

Case  34.    HENRY  B.     17  years. 

Binet  :  All  10  and  12-year  tests  done  promptly  ;  on  15- 
year  tests  fails  on  (3)  and  (5).  Construction  Test  I  :  27", 
9  moves.  Construction  Test  II  :  l'  57",  17  moves.  Cross 
Line  Test  II  :  Correct  on  first  trial.  Pictorial  Completion 
Test  :  3'  12"  ;  2  logical  errors.  Tapping  Test  :  62  and  80 
squares  respectively  on  first  and  second  trial  ;  3  and  4  errors 
respectively.  Easy  Opposites  Test  :  2  errors  and  2  failures  ; 
average  time  2.3"  ;  range  1.2"  to  6.6".  Second  trial  (new 
list  of  words)  ;  1  error  and  2  failures  ;  average  time  2.7"  ; 
range  1.2"  to  9.8".  Kraepelin  Subtraction  Test  :  Subtract- 
ing 7  from  100,  1'  53",  2  errors.  (Frequently  says,  "  I  get 
mixed  up  ",  or  "  What  did  I  say  last  ?  ")  Subtracting  6  from 
75,  l'  31",  3  errors.  Memory  for  Logical  Material  —  visual 
verbal  presentation  :  14  of  20  items  given  ;  logical  sequence, 
but  with  little  verbal  accuracy.  Memory  for  Logical  Ma- 
terial —  auditory  verbal  presentation  :  8  of  12  items  given ; 
incorrect  sequence  and  little  verbal  accuracy.  Woodworth- 
Wells  Easy  Directions  Test  :  2'  55",  2  errors  ;  3'  54",  2 
errors,  second  set.  Woodworth-Wells  Hard  Directions  Test : 
5'  13",  8  errors.  (Could  not  keep  mind  on  work  ;  said  he 
was  not  fatigued.)  Analogies  Test  :  4  correct,  1  wrong. 
Terman  Arithmetical  Reasoning  Test  :  All  three  correct. 


APPENDIX  259 

School  Work  :  Writing  and  Spelling  :  Writes  from  dictation 
"  I  hereby  apply  for  a  position."  Arithmetic  :  Does  long 
division  correctly  ;  cannot  do  problem  in  interest. 

Case  35.     CELIA  K.     17  years. 

Binet  grade  :  All  12-year  tests  correct  except  (5)  ;  that 
not  given  because  cannot  read  English.  Construction  Test  I : 
12",  7  moves.  Cross  Line  Test  I  :  Correct  on  first  trial. 
Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Correct  on  first  trial.  Pictorial  Com- 
pletion Test  :  3'  56"  ;  1  logical  and  1  illogical  error.  Tap- 
ping Test  :  72  and  79  squares  respectively  on  first  and  second 
trial,  3  and  2  errors  respectively.  School  Work :  Reads 
little  English  ;  has  never  attended  English  speaking  school. 
Writing  and  Spelling  :  Writes  from  dictation  "  The  cat  run." 
Arithmetic  :  Adds,  subtracts,  multiplies  correctly  ;  makes 
careless  errors  in  division. 

Second  Testing  four  months  later  : 

Construction  Test  II  :  l'  30",  18  moves.  School  Work  : 
Reading  :  Fails  on  many  words  in  Ist-grade  passage.  Writ- 
ing and  Spelling  :  Writes,  from  dictation  "  The  boy  goes  to 
school."  Arithmetic  :  Does  problem  in  long  division  cor- 
rectly. Fails  to  make.change. 

Third  Testing  two  months  after  last  testing  : 

Tapping  Test  :  73  and  76  squares  respectively  on  first 
and  second  trial,  3  and  0  errors  respectively.  Easy  Opposites 
Test  :  No  error  or  failure  ;  average  time  1.8".  Kraepelin 
Subtraction  Test  :  Subtracting  6  from  75  ;  52",  1  error. 
Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Correct  on  first  trial.  Counts  back- 
ward 20  to  0  in  14"  ;  counts  months  backward  20". 

Case  36.    JULIA  D.     15  years. 

Introductory  Test  :  2'  10".  Construction  Test  I  :  5", 
5  moves.  Construction  Test  II  :  l'  40",  25  moves.  Cross 
Line  Test  Ii:  Correct  on  first  trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II  : 
Correct  on  second  trial.  Code  Test  :  Failure.  Pictorial 
Completion  Test  :  2'  58"  ;  2  logical  errors.  Arbitrary  Asso- 
ciation Test  :  No  errors. 

Second  Testing  nineteen  months  later  ; 


260      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES   AND   DISABILITIES 

Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Correct  on  first  trial.  Pictorial  Com- 
pletion Test  :  l'  30",  no  errors.  Opposites  Test  :  No  errors 
or  failure  ;  average  time  2.2".  Kraepelin  Subtraction  Test : 
Subtracting  7  from  100  ;  l'  4",  no  errors. 

Case  37.    OLIVER  L.     17  years. 

Construction  Test  I  :  35",  9  moves.  Construction  Test 
II  :  47",  13  moves.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Correct  on  first 
trial.  Code  Test  :  No  symbols  wrong,  6  dots  omitted  ;  done 
rapidly  ;  good  method  used.  Pictorial  Completion  Test : 
2'  19",  2  logical  errors.  Tapping  Test  :  85  and  87  squares 
respectively  on  first  and  second  trial  ;  1  and  0  errors  respec- 
tively. Easy  Opposites  Test  :  No  errors  or  failure  ;  average 
time  1.3".  Memory  for  Logical  Material  —  visual  verbal 
presentation  :  17  of  20  items  given  ;  correct  sequence. 
Memory  for  Logical  Material  —  auditory  verbal  presenta- 
tion :  11  of  12  items  given  ;  correct  sequence. 

• 

Case  38.    ALLEN  B.     13  years. 

Binet  :  All  10  and  12-year  tests  correct  except  12-year  (2). 
(Becomes  almost  hysterical  at  absurdities  test  ;  laughs  un- 
controlledly.)  Construction  Test  I  :  l'  27",  20  moves. 
Construction  Test  n  :  Failure  on  first  trial  ;  failure  on 
second  trial,  short  time  after  first.  Cross  Line  Test  I : 
Correct  on  first  trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Failure  after 
third  trial.  Pictorial  Completion  Test  :  3'  22"  ;  2  logical 
and  7  illogical  errors  ;  says,  "  It  gets  me  dizzy."  Tapping 
Test  :  87  and  82  squares  respectively  on  first  and  second 
trial  ;  2  and  1  error  respectively.  School  Work  :  Reading  : 
5th-grade  passage  read  fluently,  but  reproduction  inaccurate. 
Arithmetic  :  Knows  all  fundamental  processes  ;  makes  1 
error  in  division. 

Second  Testing  one  day  later  : 

Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Failure  on  second  trial.  Refuses  to 
try  further.  Pictorial  Completion  Test  :  2'  10"  ;  8  illogical 
errors.  Easy  Opposites  Test  :  6  errors  and  1  failure  ;  aver- 
age time  2.2"  ;  range  l"  to  5".  Kraepelin  Subtraction  Test : 


APPENDIX  261 

Subtracting  7  from  100  ;  2'  34",  8  errors.  (Refuses  to  try 
again.)  Memory  for  Logical  Material  —  auditory  verbal 
presentation  :  7  out  of  12  items  given  ;  no  attempt  at  logical 
sequence  or  verbal  accuracy.  (Attitude  unfavorable.) 

Third  Testing  one  week  after  last  testing  : 

Construction  Test  I  :  26",  8  moves.  Construction  Test 
II  :  l'  3",  11  moves  ;  rational  method.  Cross  Line  Test  II : 
Correct  on  first  trial.  Pictorial  Completion  Test  :  5'  24" ; 
1  logical  and  6  illogical  errors.  Easy  Opposites  Test  (new 
list  used) :  3  errors  and  2  failures  ;  average  time  3". 

Case  39. .     11  years,  6  months. 

First  Testing  : 

Binet  grade  :  6|  years.  Introductory  Test  :  2'  50";  trial 
and  error  method  on  triangles.  Construction  Test  I  :  Fail- 
ure ;  entirely  irrational  procedure.  Memory  for  Logical 
Material  —  visual  verbal  presentation  :  Only  2  of  20  items 
given.  School  Work  :  Reading  :  Simple  2nd-grade  passage 
read  slowly,  but  understandingly  ;  reproduction  fair.  Writ- 
ing and  Spelling  :  Writes  plainly  his  own  name  and  a  few 
simple  words.  Arithmetic  :  Makes  simple  combinations  by 
counting  on  his  fingers,  but  often  errors.  Fails  to  make 
simple  change  and  to  add  a  few  coins  correctly. 

Second  Testing  one  year  and  eight  months  later  : 

Binet  grade  :  7f  years.  Introductory  Test  :  1'  15";  20" 
on  triangles.  Construction  Test  I  :  12",  8  moves.  Con- 
struction Test  II  :  Failure.  Puzzle  Box  :  Failure.  Cross 
Line  Test  I  :  Failure  on  fourth  trial.  Arbitrary  Association 
Learning  Test  :  5  errors.  Auditory  Memory  Span  :  4  nu- 
merals correct.  Visual  Memory  Span  :  5  numerals  correct. 
Memory  for  Logical  Material  —  visual  verbal  presentation  : 
9  of  20  items  given.  Memory  for  Logical  Material  —  audi- 
tory verbal  presentation  :  5  of  12  items  given.  School  Work  : 
Reading,  3rd-grade  passage  read  fluently.  Reproduction 
poor.  Writing  and  Spelling  :  Writes  fairly  ;  spelling  fair 
for  simple  words.  Arithmetic  :  Fails  to  add  anything  except 
the  simplest  combinations  ;  fails  to  make  simple  change,  or 
to  add  small  coins  correctly. 


262      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

Case  40.     MARTIN  T.     16  years. 

Binet  grade  :  10  years  plus  2^  tests.  (?)  Failures  :  10 
years,  \  of  (2),  (3),  and  (4)  ;  but  all  12  years  correct.  Con- 
struction Test  I  :  10",  7  moves.  Construction  Test  II  :  l' 
33",  16  moves.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Correct  on  third  trial. 
Pictorial  Completion  Test  :  4'  16",  6-  illogical  errors.  (Re- 
tested  next  day  :  2'  5",  6  illogical  errors.)  Easy  Opposites 
Test  :  4  errors  and  1  failure  ;  average  time  2.5".  Kraepelin 
Subtraction  Test  :  Subtracting  6  from  100,  time  (?),  2  errors  ; 
subtracting  4  from  100,  l'  13",  4  errors.  School  Work : 
Reading  :  3rd-grade  passage  read  stumblingly;  reproduc- 
tion fairly  good.  Writing  and  Spelling  :  Writes  from  dicta- 
tion "  The  parer  mad  som  cars "  (The  printer  made  some 
cards).  Arithmetic  :  Adds,  subtracts,  and  multiplies  cor- 
rectly. Cannot  do  long  division.  Makes  change  correctly, 
e.g.,  $2.00  -  $1.47  =  53^.  Oral  problems  done  promptly, 
e.g.,  8  pairs  of  shoes  at  $1.50  a  pair  =  $12.00.  If  you  had 
some  apples  and  gave  away  \  and  lost  \  of  those  left  and 
then  had  4,  how  many  did  you  have  at  first? 


Case  41.    WILHELMINA  T.     18  years. 

Introductory  Test  :  l'  50".  Construction  Test  I  :  Fail- 
ure ;  correct  only  after  5'  15"  and  43  moves.  Construction 
Test  II  :  5'  30",  48  moves.  Puzzle  Box  :  Failure  ;  in  3' 
only  3  moves  made  ;  very  stupid  performance.  Tapping 
Test  :  75  and  90  squares  respectively  on  first  and  second 
trial  ;  1  and  0  errors  respectively.  Cross  Line  Test  I : 
Much  difficulty  in  grasping  idea  of  test  ;  used  as  practice 
test.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Failure  on  fourth  trial.  Arbi- 
trary Association  Test  :  3  errors  ;  slowly  done.  Easy  Oppo- 
sites Test  :  No  error  or  failure  ;  average  time  1 .8".  Visual 
Memory  —  reproduction  of  Binet  figures  :  One  figure  cor- 
rect ;  the  other  failure.  School  Work  :  Reading  :  5th-grade 
passage  read  fluently,  with  good  expression.  Writing  and 
Spelling  :  Writes  from  dictation  "  The  printer  made  some 
cards."  Arithmetic  :  Does  long  division  correctly  ;  fails  on 
fractions. 


APPENDIX  263 

Case  42.     CATHERINE  L.     16  years,  1  month. 

Binet  grade  :  8£  years.  Failures  :  8  years,  (2)  and  (4)  ; 
9  years,  (2)  and  (4)  ;  10  years,  all  tests.  Construction  Test 
I  :  Failure  ;  correct  only  after  6'  37"  with  58  moves.  Con- 
struction Test  II  :  Correct  only  in  6'  10"  with  64  moves. 
Cross  Line  Test  I  :  Failure  on  fourth  trial.  Pictorial  Com- 
pletion Test  :  8'  18",  5  illogical  errors  ;  many  absurdities. 

Second  Testing  two  months  later  : 

Construction  Test  I  :  6",  7  moves.  (Evidently  remem- 
bered solution.)  Construction  Test  II  :  41",  15  moves. 
(Evidently  remembered  solution.)  Cross  Line  Test  I : 
Does  not  grasp  idea.  Pictorial  Completion  Test  :  2'  56", 
1  logical  and  5  illogical  errors.  Arbitrary  Association  Test : 
Cannot  copy  numbers.  Tapping  Test  :  50  and  54  squares 
respectively  on  first  and  second  trial  ;  1  error  each  trial. 
School  Work  :  Cannot  read.  Writing  and  Spelling  :  Cannot 
write.  Arithmetic  :  4+6  +  3+2  =  ?  Adds  slowly  by 
ones,  but  cannot  write  down  the  total. 

Third  Testing  one  week  later  (with  interpreter)  : 

Binet  grade  :  9f  years.  Failures  :  8  years,  (4)  ;  9  years, 
(4)  ;  10  years,  (2),  (3),  and  (4)  ;  12  years,  (4)  and  (5). 
Visual  Memory  —  reproduction  of  Binet  figures  :  Failure. 
School  Work  :  Arithmetic  :  Cannot  make  change,  except 
simplest  problems,  e.g.,  25 £  —  4^  =  21  £,  but  50 £  —  37^  =  ? 

Case  43.     BERNARD  G.     17  years,  8  months. 

Binet  grade  :  9f  years.  Failures  :  9  years,  (4)  ;  10  years, 
(1),  (3),  (4)  ;  12  years,  (3),  (4),  and  (5).  Introductory  Test : 
l'  ;  no  difficulty  on  triangles.  Construction  Test  I  :  10", 
5  moves.  Remarkably  good  record.  Construction  Test  II : 
41",  12  moves.  Likewise  extremely  good  record.  Puzzle 
Box  :  Failure.  Instructions  Box  :  Correct  on  third  trial. 
On  previous  trials  error  only  on  dial.  Tapping  Test  :  98 
and  92  squares,  respectively,  first  and  second  trial  ;  2  and  1 
error  respectively.  Cross  Line  Test  I  :  Correct  on  third 
trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II  :  Failure  on  fourth  trial.  Pictorial 
Completion  Test  :  3',  2  logical  and  1  illogical  error.  Easy 
Opposites  Test  :  8  errors  and  2  failures  ;  average  time  3.5". 


264      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ABILITIES  AND   DISABILITIES 

Arbitrary  Association  Test  :   3  errors.     School  Work  :  Fails 
on  multiplication  and  division. 

Case  44.    LEO  N.     16  years,  6  months. 

No  records  given ;  present  standard  procedure  not  used. 

Case  45.    JAMES  C.     11  years. 

Binet  grade  :  8f  years.  Failures  :  9  years,  (2)  and  (4)  ; 
10  years,  all  failures.  Introductory  Test  :  3'  28".  Con- 
struction Test  I  :  17",  7  moves.  Construction  Test  II : 
Failure  at  end  of  10'.  Puzzle  Box  :  Failure  at  end  of  6', 
during  which  time  no  single  correct  move  was  made.  Cross 
Line  Test  I  :  Failure  on  fourth  trial.  Cross  Line  Test  II : 
Failure  on  fourth  trial.  Easy  Opposites  Test  :  8  failures ; 
average  time  2.9".  (2  failures  possibly  due  to  lack  of  knowl- 
edge.) School  Work  :  Reading  :  3rd-grade  passage  read 
well  ;  reproduction  accurate  but  somewhat  meager.  Writ- 
ing and  Spelling  :  Writes  from  dictation  "  The  cat  ran 
away  ",  "  The  printer  —  some  cards."  Writes  simple  stories, 
misspelling  only  unfamiliar  words.  Very  much  better  results 
than  on  performance  tests.  Arithmetic  :  Adds  correctly ; 
knows  multiplication  tables  through  3's. 

Case  46.    FREDERICK  J.     13  years,  9  months. 

Introductory  Test  :  l'  40".  Construction  Test  I  :  17", 
7  moves.  Construction  Test  II  :  l'  59",  19  moves.  Puzzle 
Box  :  4'  41",  5  errors.  Instructions  Box  :  Correct  on  second 
trial.  Cross  Line  Test  I  :  Failure  on  fourth  trial.  Cross 
Line  Test  II  :  Failure  on  fourth  trial.  School  Work  :  Read- 
ing :  Cannot  read  Ist-grade  passage.  Writing  and  Spelling: 
Cannot  write  any  words.  Arithmetic  :  Adds,  subtracts,  and 
multiplies  correctly.  Solves  correctly  examples  such  as, 
2568  X  396. 

Second  Testing  2  years  and  5  months  later  : 

Binet  grade  :  Through  10  years.  Failures  :  9  years,  (2) ; 
10  years,  (2)  and  (5)  ;  12  years,  (2)  and  (5).  School  Work : 
Writes  from  dictation  "  The  primo  sat  ctame  "  (The  printer 
made  some  cards).  Arithmetic  :  Multiplies  and  divides 
correctly. 


INDEX 


ABBOTT  AND  KTJHLMANN,  89        Associations,   defect  in  form- 


Ability,  special,  in  handwork, 
210 ;  in  language,  204  /. ;  in 
number  work,  201 ;  in  rote 
memory,  214 

Abib'ty  to  follow  directions, 
tests  for,  20 

Abstractions,  defect  in  form- 
ing, in  number  work,  69 

Advantage  of  early  study  of 
mental  processes,  227 

Age  to  begin  study  of  mental 
processes,  226 

Agraphia,  36 

Aim  of  education,  41 

Alcoholism,  differential  diag- 
nosis of,  33 

Alexia,  36,  79 

Amnesia  visualis  verbalis,  86 

Aphasia,  36 ;  congenital,  83 ; 
McCall's  case  of,  83 

Apperception,  17 

Apperceptive  ability  among 
subnormals,  199 

Arithmetic,  defect  for,  case  of, 
56,  61,  65,  67,  69,  72,  73; 
elementary,  factors  in,  52 

Arithmetical  ability,  correla- 
tion with  memory,  54 

Arithmetical  problems,  reason- 
ing involved  in,  54 

Arithmetical  processes,  im- 
agery in,  53 ;  psychology  of, 
50 

Artistic  abilities,  individual  dif- 
ferences in,  164 

Association  processes,  18 


ing,  case  of,  61 
Attention,  21 ;   defects  in,  163 
Attitude,  37 
Auditory    powers,    defect    in, 

92 

BAEBWALD,  RICHARD,  79 
Bonser,  F.  G.,  19 
Border-line  cases  of  mentality, 

216 

Brissaud,  M.,  84 
Bronner,  A.  F.,  37 
Burt,  Cyril,  3 

CATTELL,  J.  McK.,  76 

Chorea,  differential  diagnosis 
of,  31 

Coffee,  excessive  use  of,  32 

Compensation  in  mental  life, 
12,  224 

Concept  of  number,  defect  for 
forming,  65,  67;  develop- 
ment of,  51  ff. 

Congenital  aphasia,  83 

Congenital  word-blindness,  36, 
79  jf. 

Congenital  word-deafness,  36, 
90 

Constitutional  inferiority,  dif- 
ferential diagnosis  of,  36 

Control  of  actions,  defects  in, 
166 

Correlations,  between  mental 
functions,  12 ;  in  phases  of 
memory,  119 

Curricula,  different  types,  47 


265 


266 


INDEX 


DAVENPORT,  C.  B.,  167 

Dearborn,  W.  F.,  76 

Defect,  of  inner  visual  func- 
tions, 128;  of  memory,  118; 
in  attention,  163 ;  in  audi- 
tory memory  for  numbers, 
case  of,  56,  61 ;  in  auditory 
powers,  92 ;  in  control  of 
actions,  166 ;  in  forming 
abstractions  in  number  work, 
case  of,  69 ;  in  forming  as- 
sociations, case  of,  61 ;  in 
general  language  ability, 
case  of,  110,  112;  in 
imagination,  165 ;  in  in- 
ventive ability,  165 ;  in  men- 
tal control,  case  of,  168, 174, 
178,  180,  185,  189,  192 ;  in 
mental  representation,  154 ; 
case  of,  156 ;  in  number 
work,  inadequate  testing  for, 
72,  73;  in  perceptions  of 
relationship,  159;  case  of, 
160 ;  in  perceptual  abilities, 
149 ;  case  of,  150 ;  in  powers 
of  inhibition,  167;  in  solv- 
ing problems  with  concrete 
material,  case  of,  140,  143 ; 
in  speed  of  reactions,  45 ; 
case  of,  146 ;  in  visual 
powers,  case  of,  97;  for 
forming  concept  of  number, 
case  of,  65,  67 ;  for  reading 
due  possibly  to  defect  in 
synthetic  processes,  case  of, 
100,  104 ;  for  solving  prob- 
lems with  concrete  material, 
138 

Defectives  unfit  for  motor 
training,  case  of,  197 

Dementia  praecox,  34 

Dewey,  John,  42,  50 

Diagnosis,  differential,  need 
for,  23 

Differential  diagnosis,  need  for, 
23  ;  of  special  ability,  24 

Disabilities,  see  DEFECTS 


Diseases  of  the  brain,  causing 

defects,  36 
Distractibility,  164 
Dodge  and  Erdmann,  76 

ECKHARDT,  K.,  52,  53 

Elective  courses  in  schools,  46  « 
Elimination  from  school,  44 
Emotions,  testing  of,  21 
Epilepsy,     differential      diag- 
nosis of,  31 

Erdmann  and  Dodge,  76 
Eye  movements  in  reading,  76 

FEEBLE-MINDED,  definition  of 
British  Royal  Commission, 
9  note;  Illinois  statute  for 
commitment,  9  note 

Feeble-mindedness,  criteria  for 
judgment  of,  38;  diagnosis 
of,  38 

Feebly  inhibited,  167 

Foerster,  M.  R.,  84 

Freeman,  Frank  N.f  22,  42 

GULICK  AND  AYRES,  24 

HABITTTATION  IN  TEACHING 
ARITHMETIC,  54 

Hamilton,  Francis,  77 

Handwork,  for  mental  defec- 
tives, 197 ;  special  ability 
for,  among  subnormals,  210 ; 
case  of,  211,  212 

Head  injuries,  affecting  dif- 
ferential diagnosis,  35 ;  case 
of,  35 

Healy,  William,  8,  9,  36,  155, 
168,  205 

Heredity  of  congenital  word- 
blindness,  85 

Hinshelwood,  James,  80 

Hollingworth,  H.  L.,  48 

Holmes,  Arthur,  139,  145 

Huey,  E.  B.,  77 

Hysteria,  differential  diag- 
nosis of,  29 ;  case  of,  30 


INDEX 


267 


IMAGERY,     IN     ARITHMETICAL 

PROCESSES,    53 ;     types    in 

reading,  78 

Imagination,  defects  in,  165 
Improvement      of      defective 

powers,  225 
Inadequate  testing  for  defect  in 

number  work,  case  of,  72,  73 
Inhibition,  defect  in,  167 
Inhibitory  mechanism,  168 
Inner    speech    in   relation    to 

reading,  77 

Intelligence,  measuring  of,  14 
Interests,  main,  in  education, 

14 
Inventive  ability,  165 

JANET,  PIERRE,  29 
Judd,  C.  H.,  55 
Judgment,  19 

KIRKPATRICK,  E.  A.,  89 
Krueger  and  Spearman,  3 
Kuhlmann  and  Abbott,  89 

LADD  AND  WOODWORTH,  84 

Language  ability,  general,  de- 
fect in,  110,  112 

Language,  defect  for,  case  of, 
92 ;  special  ability  for, 
among  subnormals,  204  /. ; 
case  of,  206 ;  special  ability 
for,  among  feeble-minded, 
case  of,  208 

Lanner,  A.,  51 

Lay,  89 

Learning  ability,  individual 
differences  in,  165 

Lobsien,  M.,  54 

MANN,  ALFRED,  164,  note 
Manual  skill,  139 
McCall,  Eva,  83,  92 
McCready,  E.  B.,  85,  86 
McLennan  and  Dewey,  50 
Meaning,  reproduction  of,  in 
reading,  77  ff. 


Measuring  scales,  for  achieve- 
ment in  school  subjects,  44 ; 
of  intelligence,  14 

Memory,  17  ;  correlation  with 
arithmetical  ability,  54 ;  de- 
fect in  auditory,  for  num- 
bers, case  of,  56,  61 ;  defects 
of,  118;  case  of,  120  ff. ; 
rote,  special  ability  in, 
among  subnormals,  214 

Mental  control,  20 ;  defect  in, 
case  of,  168,  174,  178,  180, 
185,  189,  192;  correlated 
with  unstable  nervous  organ- 
ization, case  of,  174 

Mental  processes,  groups  of, 
13 

Mental  representation,  19 ;  de- 
fect in,  155 ;  case  of,  156 

Messmer,  I.,  76 

Method,  adaptation  to  meet 
individual  needs,  42 

Methods  of  teaching  number 
work,  55 ;  reading,  78 ;  spell- 
ing, 88  ff. 

Meumann,  Ernst,  50, 51, 52,  75, 
76,  77,  78,  226 

Morgan,  W.  Pringle,  79 

Movements,  eye,  in  reading, 
76 

NETTLESHIP,  E.,  81 
Norsworthy,  Naomi,  199 
Number  concept,  development 

of,  51  ff. 
Number  work,  special  ability 

for,  among  subnormals,  200 ; 

case  of,  201 

PEARSON,  K.,  3 

Perception,  16 

Perceptions     of     relationship, 

defect    in,    159 ;     case    of, 

160 
Perceptual  abilities,  defects  in, 

149 
Performance  tests,  16 


268 


INDEX 


Physical  aspects  of  reading 
process,  76 

Physical  conditions,  poor,  caus- 
ing mental  dullness,  24  ff. ; 
case  of,  25 

Pintner,  R.,  77 

Plate,  E.,  85 

Psychological  elements  in  spell- 
ing, 89 

Psychological  laws  related  to 
learning  school  subjects,  43 

Psychological  processes  in  read- 
ing process,  77 ;  in  spoken 
language,  89 

Psychological  tests,  in  general, 
14 

Psychological  unity  in  lan- 
guage ability,  75  ff. 

Psychology  of  number,  50; 
analysis  of,  53 

Psychomotor  control,  19 

Psychoses,  differential  diag- 
nosis of,  34 

READING  DEFECT,  correlated 
with  visual  defect,  case  of, 
97 ;  inadequate  testing,  case 
of,  108 ;  case  of,  92,  97,  100, 
104,  108 

Reading  process,  analysis  of, 
77,  78  ;  physical  aspects,  76 ; 
psychological  processes  in, 
77  •; 

Reasoning  ability,  18 

Reasoning,  involved  in  arith- 
metical problems,  54 

Reproduction  of  meaning  in 
reading,  77  ff. 

Retardation,  6,  44 ;  in  arith- 
metic, due  to  poor  teaching, 
56 ;  in  number  work,  55 

Rice,  J.  M.,  88 

Rote  memory,  special  ability 
in,  among  subnormals,  214 ; 
case  of,  214 

Ruger,  A.  H.,  139 

Rupp,  Hans,  165  note 


SEASHORE,  165  note 

Sensory  defects,  leading  to 
mental  dullness,  27 ;  case  of, 
28 

Sex  practices,  excessive,  33 

Simulation,  37 

Smoking,  excessive,  32 

Spearman,  12 

Spearman  and  Krueger,  3 

Speed  of  reactions,  defect  in, 
145 ;  case  of,  146 

Spelling,  88 ;  methods  of  teach- 
ing, 88  ff. ;  psychological 
elements  in,  89 

Spoken  language,  psychological 
processes  in,  89 

Stephenson,  Sidney,  81,  85 

Stern,  William,  226 

Study  of  mental  processes, 
advantage  of  early,  227  ;  age 
to  begin,  226 

Suzzallo,  Henry,  2,  50,  54 

Synthesis  in  the  reading  pro- 
cess, 79  note 

Synthetic  processes,  defect  in, 
causing  reading  defect,  case 
of,  100,  104 

TEA,  EXCESSIVE  USE  OP,  32 
Tests  for  ability  to  follow  direc- 
tions, 20 ;  for  apperception, 
17 ;  for  association,  18 ;  for 
attention,  21 ;  for  emotions, 
21;  for  judgment,  19;  for 
memory,  17 ;  for  memory 
span,  18 ;  for  mental  control, 
20 ;  for  mental  representa- 
tion, 19 ;  for  perception, 
16 ;  for  psychomotor  con- 
trol, 19 ;  for  reasoning,  18 ; 
for  school  subjects,  21 ;  in- 
volving concrete  material, 
15 

Thomas,  C.  J.,  82,  85,  92 
Thorndike,  E.  L.,  1,  2,  3,  12, 

168 
Town,  C.  H.,  90 


INDEX 


269 


Training,   of   capacities,   226; 

of    defective    powers,    225; 

of  subnormals,  198 
Truancy,  6 

UNGRADED  CLASSES,  220 
Unity,   psychological,   in   lan- 
guage ability,  75  ff. 

VAN  DENBURG,  45 

Visual  functions,  inner,  de- 
fects of,  128;  case  of,  129, 
132 

Visualization  in  learning  arith- 
metic, 53 

Vocational  dissatisfactions,  7 

Vocational  guidance  in  rela- 
tion to  psychological  tests, 
48 


WEIDENSALL,  JEAN,  10 

Wernicke,  C.,  84 

Wernicke,  Otto,  83 

Whipham,  T.  R.,  83 

Will,  166 

Witmer,  Lightner,  86 

Woodworth  and  Ladd,  84 

Word-blindness,  congenital,  36, 
79  ff. ;  criteria  for  diagnosis, 
87  ff.;  definition  of,  84; 
etiology  of,  85 ;  Foerster's 
case,  84 ;  Hinshelwood's 
case,  80 ;  Morgan's  case, 
79  ;  Stephenson's  case,  81 ; 
Thomas's  case,  82 ;  Wer- 
nicke's  case,  83 ;  Whipham's 
case,  83  ;  Witmer's  case,  86 

Word-deafness,  congenital,  36, 
90 ;  Town's  case,  90 


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